VANCOUVER – The UBC baseball program enjoyed a successful official opening of their brand-new stadium late Sunday morning completing a weekend double dip doubleheader by winning three of four games against the visiting Corban Warriors.
Plenty of fans and alumni turned out for the opening ceremony festivities, filling the new grandstand seats of the yet-to-be named $5 million crown jewel that sits steps beside the $4 million Rose indoor training centre that was completed in late 2015.
It was a busy infield for the six individuals involved in the ceremonial first pitch and rightfully so with major supporters and generous donors all taking the mound. They included Mike Rose, Peter Parsons, alumnus and long-time MLB pitcher Jeff Francis, as well as Bob Hole who all joined Professor Santa J. Ono, President and Vice Chancellor of UBC, along with director of baseball and program founder
Terry McKaig.
The new stadium is a gem, with no detail spared in trying to make the facility really standout. The grandstand seats 480 people, with both individual and bench seating, and includes a press box. Other features include a new scoreboard, big-league dugouts and professional grade LED lights.
One of the bigger talking points so far involves the artificial playing surface needed with Vancouver's climate. At first blush the field appears to be natural grass with the two-tone "grass cut" look that replicates most Major League Baseball parks.
The stadium is seen as the final touch to the ambitious $110 million investment to transform Thunderbird Park that began in 2008. The overhaul has been quite remarkable as ten years ago the area was a sea of waterlogged grass fields and aging facilities.
Other facility additions that have rounded out the
Thunderbird Park transformation include:
- Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, a 7,200-seat arena used for hockey, concerts and other events
- National Soccer Development Centre building (used by the Vancouver Whitecaps)
- Ken Woods new turf soccer field
- Upgraded Wright Field for field hockey
- Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre
- Rashpal Dhillon track and field oval
- UBC Tennis Centre
- Futsal fields (mini turf fields)
The new combined baseball facility is seen as the premiere university baseball complex in Canada and is used by a wide variety of enthusiasts including youth clubs, students, pro-athletes, varsity athletes, recreational athletes and even weekend warriors.
In his third year as head coach of UBC's varsity baseball team, former major leaguer
Chris Pritchett is pleased with the squad's output of late, with all indications pointing to the team really enjoying their new home digs. They strung together a 10-game winning streak during the soft-launch of the stadium in late March and following their final home stand of the season last weekend improved their home record to 14-3.
