With energy rampantly running through spectators at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Ducks baseball stadium, University President Dave Frohnmayer announced the official title of the park.
Named in honor of athletic director Pat Kilkenny, P.K. Park will seat an estimated 5,000 fans and help bring back a sport that has been absent from the school since leaving in a cost cutting effort following the 1981 season.
“It’s about past players. It’s about Phil Knight. It’s about strikeouts. It’s about Cracker Jacks,” stated Kilkenny in his address to spectators. “Today we break ground on a baseball stadium.”
The school’s expectation is that the stadium will be able to bring in fans that will emulate the excitement of other sports complexes such as McArthur Court, Hayward Field and Autzen Stadium.
“When we add the excitement and competitiveness that we are now known for in all of our sports to baseball,” says Kilkenny, “we expect the experience of attending an Oregon baseball game to be among the best in the country.”
Both President Frohnmayer and Kilkenny were awarded with golden shovels, whose handles were made of baseball bats.
Giving an idea for how the stadium would be set up, a home plate was painted on the asphalt in green and yellow, where the mascot took the first ever pitch at P.K. Park from Ducks Coach George Horton, a two time National Coach of the Year.
When asked about the pin-stripe jerseys they would be wearing along with the new stadium they will be playing in, student and ball player Zack Thornton says that “It’s a dream come true.” Players and coaches wait eagerly to begin practices Sept. 15th.
The stadium project has an estimated budget of $15 million, which does not include “gifts” such as the donation of steel or other supplies. The state-of-the-art stadium will undergo two stages before it is complete. The first stage will include the construction of the playing surface, dugouts, lights and temporary seating. This stage will be completed for the inaugural 2009 season. The second stage, which will be completed for the 2010 season, will include; a plaza, history exhibit, locker rooms, concessions, picnic area, restrooms and novelty shops. Also included will be a concourse arcade.
The stadium opens for a three game series against the defending champion Bulldogs of Fresno State on February 27th, 2009.
Did You Know?
Baseball was the first ever sport at the University of Oregon when the Ducks took the field in 1877.