Plans for the new baseball facility that we first shared last May are going along smoothly. The groundbreaking is expected in June and Stantec, the firm working on the park, is expected to have the park completed for September, 2012. The new facility is generating huge buzz within the Athletic Department because it will have the biggest seating capacity of any Beacon venue and be the first artificial turf park in UMB history.

More detailed drawings of the two fields have come out since we first reported. The first one will be used for BC High JV and freshmen sports, as well as soccer from both BC High and UMB, and UMB baseball practices. The second field will be for BC High’s and UMB’s varsity baseball teams. The dimensions will be modeled after Fenway Park, and according to head coach Brendan Eygabroat, “That’ll be pretty unique and something exciting. Hopefully it will help us in the recruiting game and make it a cool, fun place to play.”

Stantec has a great track record of putting up facilities fast. Eygabroat said, “This is the same group that put down the turf in Gillette Stadium in three days. They’re pretty well seasoned in what they do. They gave us a timeline of three months on the project[…] they know how to move quick.”

The team is thrilled that this season will be their last without a home on campus. For as long as the program has existed, the Beacons have had to travel a half-hour by bus to play home games or even practice on a diamond. When asked if the team is excited about the move, Eygabroat said, “Of course we are! Right now we still have to travel to practice. It will be awesome to have a park we can just walk out to.”