Cougar Field

Cougar Field
Location	Cullen Boulevard @ Elgin Street Houston, Texas
Coordinates	29°43′36″N 95°20′43″W / 29.7267°N 95.3452°W / 29.7267; -95.3452
Broke ground	1994
Opened	February 22, 1995
Owner	University of Houston System
Operator	University of Houston
Surface	Grass
Construction cost	$30 million USD[1]
Capacity	5,000[1]
Field dimensions	Left Field: 330 ft (100 m)[2] Center Field: 400 ft (122 m) Right Field: 330 ft (100 m)
Tenants
Houston Cougars baseball (NCAA) (1995-present) Texas Arrow Heads (Pro Cricket) (2004)

Cougar Field is a baseball stadium in Houston, Texas. It is the home field of the Houston Cougars baseball team. Several iterations of Cougar Field have existed. The current stadium holds 5,000 people, and opened for baseball in 1995. Since its opening, Cougar Field has hosted several notable college baseball events.^[3]

History

Prior to 1961, the Cougars played at Buff Stadium. The original baseball stadium named Cougar Field was built roughly in the same area as the current one. Before 1968, it existed where Hofheinz Pavilion is today. To make room for the then new basketball arena, Cougar Field was moved next door.^[4] This iteration of Cougar Field stayed in the same location until March 29, 1994 when it was demolished in preparation for the establishment of the UH Athletics/Alumni center.^[4] To finish the rest of their season's home games, the Cougars played at Texas A&M University's Olsen Field and crosstown Rice University's Cameron Field.^[5][6] After a multimillion dollar donation from Cougar alumnus and San Diego Padres owner John Moores, the current stadium was built throughout the remainder of the year, and had its first game on February 22, 1995.

Events hosted

Since its opening in 1995, Cougar Field has hosted several notable college baseball events.^[3] In both 1999 and 2000 an NCAA Regional was hosted at the ball park. Also in 2000, Cougar Field was home to an NCAA Super Regional. In addition, the 2004 edition and 2010 edition of the Conference USA Baseball Tournament were both hosted at Cougar Field.

Features

Cougar Field's Philips Vidiwall scoreboard

Cougar Field is a scaled-down version of a major league ballpark.^[3] It features a scoreboard with a Philips Vidiwall LED video screen constructed by Spectrum Corporation.^[7] Cougar Field seats up to 5,000 spectators, whereas most of the seats are covered by a canopy roof.

For players, in addition to locker rooms, there are facilities for indoor batting practice, storage, and laundry.^[3] Cougar Field's press box seats 28, and has booths for television and radio coverage.^[3] The field is made of natural grass, which can decrease injuries, but can also decrease the running speed as compared to artificial turf.

Attendance

In 2010, the Cougars ranked 45th in Division I college baseball in attendance, averaging 1,262 per home game.^[8]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Holderfield, Jeff. "New Cougar Field Opens Today at 4 P.M.". The Daily Cougar. Retrieved 13 November 2007.
2. ^ 1999 Division I Baseball Regional Pairings and Site Breakdowns. NCAA. Retrieved 13 November 2007.
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} Cougar Field. UH Athletics. Retrieved 15 November 2007.
4. ^ ^{a b} Scholl, Daniel. "Dreams, Days Gone by Mark of Era". The Daily Cougar. Retrieved 13 November 2007.
5. ^ Wizig, Jerry. "Cougar Field Stories Abound". Chron.com. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 13 November 2007.
6. ^ Carssow, Ryan. "Only Memories Will Remain of Cougar Field". The Daily Cougar. Retrieved 13 November 2007.
7. ^ Scoreboards. Spectrum Corporation. Retrieved 24 November 2007.
8. ^ Brian Foley (January 6, 2011). "2010 NCAA Baseball Attendance Leaders". Archived from the original on 02-04-11. http://www.webcitation.org/5wH7srbCd. Retrieved February 4, 2011. 

External links

• Stadium info

Coordinates: 29°43′36″N 95°20′43″W / 29.7267°N 95.3452°W / 29.7267; -95.3452

Preceded by Buffalo Stadium

Home of the Houston Cougars 1962 – Present

Succeeded by Current ballpark