The UF Athletic Association has announced plans to build a new baseball stadium off Hull Road, near the Ronald R. Dizney Lacrosse Stadium, by 2020.
Plans for the new ballpark were unanimously approved by UF’s Board of Trustees at a meeting Friday. The stadium is estimated to cost $50 million and will now go to the Florida Board of Governors for final approval.
The stadium will have 6,000 seats but an overall capacity of 10,000, with standing room for fans to watch, said UF Athletic Director Scott Stricklin. An additional 400 to 500 parking spots will also be added near the ballpark.
The Trustees also approved $11 million worth of renovations for the Katie Seashole Pressly softball stadium, including expanded seating and shading, Stricklin said. A $65 million football training facility will be built at the site of the current baseball stadium.
“It gives us a chance to do football right and to do baseball right,” he said.
The athletic association will pay UF’s Institute of Agricultural Sciences $3 million over the next five years to buy the land for the baseball stadium, UF spokesperson Margot Winick wrote in an email.
Stricklin said the athletic association wanted a new stadium because shading is crucial for fans, especially for afternoon games in Florida’s heat.
The new stadium will have more comfortable seating and increased shading. It will also be designed in a way where fans can mingle and still be able to watch the game, he said.
He hopes the new stadium will attract more people on game days.
“Baseball is such a social sport,” Sticklin said, after the Trustees’ meeting. “People like that kind of gathering and moving around, so we’re going to make sure there is space to allow for that.”
Contact Elliott Nasby at enasby@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter at @_ElohEl.
A rendering of the proposed baseball stadium.
