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The expansion of padding along the outfield walls, a redesigned backstop wall and upgraded seats for the spectators are renovations underway at the UTRGV Baseball Stadium on the Edinburg campus.
All construction is expected to be completed in February before opening day, according to head baseball coach Derek Matlock in an interview with The Rider.
The stadium project is partially funded by the $85 million budget for UTRGV Athletics, but mostly comes from the baseball program’s deferred maintenance budget.
“It’s $2.5 [million],” Devin Oliveira, assistant director for Facilities & Game Operations, said about the stadium renovation budget. “Most of it is coming from [the] deferred maintenance budget from successive years. … The stuff that we should be using to basically take care of and maintain the facility.”
Chasse Conque, vice president and director of Athletics, said the stadium is a “great ballpark.”
“Great bones, great structure, but it just hasn’t received much TLC since it was built, you know, 20-plus years ago,” Conque said. “And so, our fans, when they walk into the baseball stadium this coming season, they’re gonna see a real transformation.
“Everything’s gonna have a good, fresh, clean coat of paint, hand railings, new outfield wall, all-new chair back seating, and, hopefully, we’re able to create even more premium and VIP areas and experiences. So it’s, again, a project that we’ve needed to tackle for quite some time and I’m glad we’re able to fit it in this offseason.”
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Matlock said these changes will make the field safer.
“We’ve had some incidents before,” he said. “If we wouldn’t have padded before, we could’ve had some serious injuries. The concrete was exposed and we’ve got guys hit their head on the pad.”
The coach said the updates will influence recruiting.
“When you raise your facility, you raise recruiting,” Matlock said.
The field gained a package of upgrades in 2015, including padding to the outfield walls and behind home plate, a new dugout fencing and a new irrigation system. The following year, a new score-and-video board was installed.
The team’s locker room also received an upgrade earlier this year.
“[We] just want to get ourselves in line with programs around the country, especially [Division 1] because that’s what we are,” Oliveira said. “And our facility was built to be a semipro facility, so we got great bones. It’s just a much needed TLC that we’re putting into the stadium.”
The stadium, originally known as the Edinburg Baseball Stadium, first opened in 2001. The park was once home to the Edinburg Roadrunners, an independent minor league baseball team, though they did not have their debut game until 2002.
“It’s gonna be the best stadium in the conference,” Matlock said. “ … I’ll say it’s better than Grand Canyon [University] with everything new. … We’re getting all-new chair backs, and all-new paint and all-new pads and then bricking all the way. … We’re going to have one of the top, shoot, top four or five stadiums in Texas.”
Senior pitcher Nico Rodriguez said he is excited to play and see supporters once all of the renovations are complete.
“The bigger the crowd, it’s better for us,” Rodriguez said. “ … We’re glad to have a community that supports us and, hopefully, get to see all the fans go out there and the new stadium and the new renovations and possibly attract more fans, as well. That’ll be great.”
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