- Olsen Field
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Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park 
Location College Station Texas, USA Broke ground 1977 Opened March 21, 1978 Owner Texas A&M University Operator Texas A&M University Surface Tifway Bermuda Grass Capacity 5,400 Field dimensions 330 ft (LF/RF), 375 ft (LC/RC), 400 ft (CF) Tenants Texas A&M Aggies Baseball (NCAA) (1978-Present) Olsen Field is a baseball stadium in College Station, Texas, that is home to the Texas A&M baseball program. The stadium was dedicated on March 21, 1978, and is named in honor of Pat Olsen, a 1923 graduate of Texas A&M University and a former baseball player in the New York Yankees farm system. Olsen Field has served as an NCAA regional site five times and had its 1999 regional attendance ranked second with 53,287. The first NCAA Regional Tournament held at Olsen Field was in 1989.
In 2004 Sports Illustrated on Campus ranked Olsen Field "the best college baseball venue". Aggie baseball fans called RAggies have a reputation of fiercely "ragging" opponents.[1]
Olsen Field, with a name change to Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park (following a $7 million donation from Blue Bell Creameries), is currently undergoing a major renovation that began on June 7, 2011. Some new features of the stadium include an expanded concourse and concessions area, luxury suites, a new press box, club seating, two grass berms, expanded locker rooms and coaches offices, a student athletic center, and extended seating closer to the field. However, the seating capacity will be decreased from 7,000 to 5,400 to accommodate the changes (although with standing room only will still hold over 7,000). The project is estimated to cost $24 million. Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park is scheduled to open in late February 2012.[2][3][4]
In 2011, the Aggies ranked 11th in Division I college baseball in attendance, averaging 3,994 per home game.[5]References
- ^ "Road Trip: College Station, Texas". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/sioncampus/04/07/road_trip0408/. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
- ^ Cox, Brad (2009-01-30). "Olsen Field renovation process moves on". The Battalion. http://media.www.thebatt.com/media/storage/paper657/news/2009/01/30/News/Olsen.Field.Renovation.Process.Moves.On-3605403.shtml. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
- ^ Zwerneman, Brent (2009-01-28). "A&M's Olsen Field in line for extreme makeover". Houston Chronicle. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/6235826.html. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
- ^ McAuliffe, Shane (2011-05-07). "Olsen Field Officially Starts $24 Million Renovation". KBTX.com. http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/Olsen_Field_Officially_Starts_24_Million_Renovation_123404088.html. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ Tami Cutler (June 14, 2011). "2011 NCAA Baseball Attendance Leaders". Archived from the original on 06-14-11. http://www.sportswriters.net/ncbwa/news/2011/110614attendance.pdf. Retrieved June 16, 2011.
External links
Baseball parks of the Big 12 Conference Baylor Ballpark (Baylor) • Hoglund Ballpark (Kansas) • Tointon Family Stadium (Kansas State) • Taylor Stadium (Missouri) • L. Dale Mitchell Baseball Park (Oklahoma) • Allie P. Reynolds Stadium (Oklahoma State) • UFCU Disch-Falk Field (Texas) • Olsen Field (Texas A&M) • Dan Law Field (Texas Tech)
Coordinates: 30°36′21″N 96°20′29″W / 30.60575°N 96.34130°WCategories:- College baseball venues in the United States
- Texas A&M Aggies baseball
- Baseball venues in Texas
- Sports venues in College Station, Texas
- Baseball venues in the Brazos Valley
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