Tech hopes to bring Dan Law Field up to standards
Dan Spencer’s track record is a proven one. He has shown, both in his time as an assistant at Oregon State and in just one year as a head coach, he can develop some of the best pitchers in the country.
The problem since his arrival in Lubbock three years ago has been getting those kids to come to Texas Tech. Unlike many of his Big 12 head coaching brethren, Spencer almost has to convince kids in spite of his home ballpark instead of using it as a recruiting tool.
He’s hoping to change that very soon.
A digital rendering of the front of Dan Law Field after proposed rennovations. (Photo provided by MWM Architects)
A digital rendering of the view from the first base line inside Dan Law Field after proposed rennovations. (Photo provided by MWM Architects)
A digital rendering of the entry to Dan Law Field after proposed rennovations. (Photo provided by MWM Architects)
A digital rendering of the view from the third base line inside Dan Law Field after proposed rennovations. (Photo provided by MWM Architects)
A digital rendering of concourse and press/luxury boxes inside Dan Law Field after proposed rennovations. (Photo provided by MWM Architects)
A digital rendering of the view from center field at Dan Law Field after proposed rennovations. (Photo provided by MWM Architects)
In a move that, for some, has been long overdue, Tech has begun taking the first steps toward renovating Dan Law Field, hoping to bring it in line with the rest of the Big 12 Conference with plans to turn it into one of the top collegiate parks in the country.
“Kids have told me since I’ve been here ‘I want to come to Tech, I want to play for you coaches, but I’m going to Arkansas because their field is like, Wow!’” Spencer said. “The bottom line is the hardest kids to recruit are young arms. Young arms are being recruited by all the big boys like Arkansas, TCU, Texas, Baylor, people who have (better) facilities. We have to be able to match that and (the players) need to see that commitment. We can tell them all we want, but when you look at ballparks and stadiums, we have a nice park, but it looks like Texas Tech is not committed to the baseball deal like Texas is or TCU is with their new stadiums.”
Through a local architecture company, MWM Architects, Spencer has in hand preliminary drawings on a $12 million renovation project to Dan Law Field that would provide basically a completely new structure behind home plate. Gone would be the old, metal, erector-set style bleachers and luxury boxes and in their place would be a concrete structure complete with new luxury suites and club seats, more than 2,000 chair-back seats as well as new press facilities.
The clubhouse down the left-field line, built in 2003, and the Field Turf installed two seasons ago, would remain. Everything else would go.
“From all the parks I’ve been in … I would have to say it would be one of the top 10 in the country,” Spencer said. “I know LSU just built a brand new palace and South Carolina built a new palace, and Texas just built theirs. But I find it hard to believe (Tech’s plans) would not be in the top 10 in the nation.”
Now comes the hard part — fundraising.
The New Law in Town
A look at the proposed renovations for Dan Law Field:
-Seating: 4,400 (2,400 chairback seats, 2,000 bench seats)
-Suites: 12 luxury suites; 250-300 club seats on second level.
-Other amenities: Completely new seating structure provides new concourse, restroom facilities and concession area. New ticket booth, coaches offices and weight room with expanded press box. Structure design would match other construction on campus, particularly Jones AT&T Stadium.
-Cost: $12 million
Finding the money
The problem with funding a renovation project for The Law is Spencer will have to get it done strictly through private donations. Athletic Director Gerald Myers said the university is committed to finishing the renovation of the East side of Jones AT&T Stadium, plus some other projects that are in the planning stages.
“The bottom line is we won’t be doing any construction on any new facilities until we have the money to pay for it,” Myers said. “We have to have a financial plan in place to be able to pay for it. We’re maxed out on our debt service with the stadium and (United Spirit Arena) and all the other things we’ve built here over the last 10 years that we’re still paying for. That debt is going to go down at some point, but we definitely have to have the commitment. We’re not just going to go out and start construction or renovation without the funding in place.”
Spencer said he has talked to several people about their interest in donating to renovate Dan Law Field, but has not talked specific numbers with those folks. But having shown Myers and Chancellor Kent Hance the renovation plans and the list of potential donors, Spencer was given the green light by Hance to begin fundraising. If he had to go today to specific pledges, Spencer is confident he could scrounge up roughly a quarter of the money, or $3 million.
In an ideal world, Spencer hopes to begin tearing down the current Dan Law structure and building anew once the final pitch of the final 2010 home series against Baylor is thrown in mid-May. But Myers reiterated that no construction would take place until the funding is in place as well.
Spencer said he can see possibly doing the renovation in stages, starting with a $6 million pricetag and then finishing the rest of it as the money became available, but he would rather get it all done at once, and Myers said there is no timeline to get the funding done or begin construction.
“If we have the funding, then yes, it would be feasible (to start in May),” Myers said. “We do have some encouragement. We are encouraged with the interest we do have in baseball and we think we will eventually get the funding in place.”
One arm of the fundraising process will be the Red Raider Club. RRC Associate AD Steve Uryasz said his department’s main job in helping raise money for the renovation will be similar to the organization’s role in helping bring the Jones AT&T Stadium East side renovation to fruition.
“When it’s time to go public, the strategy as related to baseball is for Gerald, myself, the chancellor and (Vice Chancellor for Institutional Development) Kelly Overley and her staff will sit down and put together a plan to hopefully go out and solicit donors to help make it a reality,” Uraysz said. “There’s not question about it. We will have a very active role in every aspect of the fundraising.”
Uryasz said the RRC’s main role in the Jones Stadium expansion was to find tenants for the suites, and expects a similar role in the renovation of Dan Law Field. Of course, that could mean going back to the same big-money donors who have given on most other major athletic facility projects over the past few years, and doing so at a time when tensions are still frazzled from the Mike Leach suspension and firing last month.
“One might say that at some point we’re going to run out of donors or when can we stop going back to the same people, but I don’t know that we’ve hit that point,” Uryasz said. “It’s amazing how Texas Tech fans have been in helping us reach our goals for facilities. They see how important it is and see that we are continuing to grow.”
Long time coming
There was a time, not too long ago, where all this would have been a moot point. Tech was about to be the beneficiary of a huge project that would have built a brand new stadium and brought minor league baseball to Lubbock.
Tech was to play in a top-notch facility and would actually receive money for doing so. But when it turned out that convicted embezzler Jonathan “Jody” Nelson, who swindled more than $70 million from a Snyder-based oil company, was one of the top investors in the group leading the push for the stadium, that group folded and was left with a big hole in the ground on the outskirts of Wolfforth.
It also left Tech playing catchup to its Big 12 competitors.
“Most people in Lubbock look at Dan Law Field and like it and think it’s a nice field,” said former head coach Larry Hays, who coached Tech for 22 seasons before retiring following the 2008 season. “Some days you get sunburned and weather-beaten and other things, but I don’t think the average Tech fan that doesn’t travel to these other parks realizes the difference. I’ll be glad when we as Texas Tech people and fans and anyone else involved realize what we’re up against.”
In the last 12 years, almost all the Big 12 schools have renovated their baseball parks in one form or another. Most have been small, in the $2-4 million range, and Missouri is in the middle of its second renovation of Taylor Stadium, with a new video scoreboard and indoor hitting area scheduled for completion prior to this season and a new clubhouse to be ready for 2011 at a total cost of around $10 million.
But some, like Baylor Ballpark in Waco, Texas’ UFCU-Disch-Falk Field and Nebraska’s Haymarket Park in Lincoln, Neb., have taken the extra step. Built in 2002, Haymarket Park came in at a price tag of $29.5 million. Disch-Falk, which was renovated in time for the 2008 season, came in at $25.8 million.
Spencer is realistic. He knows he won’t be able to raise that kind of money and isn’t looking to. He thinks he can give Tech fans one of the nicest parks in the country for about half that price, and that in turn will help further Tech’s baseball resurgence.
“I’m in uncharted waters here,” Spencer said. “I don’t have a lot of experience trying to raise $12 million, like none. But I am confident there are people out there who will help us, and if not get to $12 million get very close.
“Are we behind as far as the stadium? Yeah. Does it mean we’re not going to compete and do our thing? No. But it means if we want to really do the things we came here to do, and these kids came here to do, which is win national championships and play in Omaha, then we need to take the first step with our stadium.”
Big 12 Building Boom
A look at the improvements each team in the Big 12 has made or is planning to make to its baseball facilities:
Baylor
Baylor Ballpark
-Renovated: 1999
-Total seating: 5,000
-Total cost: $8 million (price includes adjacent softball park)
-Specifics: 3,200 chairback seats (650 at field level), new press and luxury suite facilities; 13×16 video board (2003); Locker room (renovated again 2009); training room, coaches offices, souvenir store, lounge, indoor hitting cages (2800 sq. feet); lockeroom.
Kansas
Hoglund Ballpark
-Renovated: 1999
-Total seating: 2,500
-Total cost: $1.8 million
-Specifics: Increased seating capacity, new press box, expanded dugouts, additional restrooms, plaza entrance and façade. New turf batting cages added in 2003. Hoglund Indoor Training Center added in 2005; New clubhouse/lounge added in 2009.
Kansas State
Tointon Family Stadium
-Renovated: 2002
-Total seating: 2,331
-Total cost: $3.1 million
-Specifics: New seating, luxury suites and press box, lockerroom, lounge, training room, weight room, coaches offices, façade, lighting system (2003).
Missouri
Taylor Stadium
-Renovated: 2000 (built new)
-Total seating: 2,200 (537 chair-back seats)
-Total cost: $2.1 million
-Specifics: New seating, press box, clubhouse, coaches offices, concession area, dugouts, sound system.
-Note: Taylor Stadium underwent more renovations prior to the 2010 season. Down left field line, added were new indoor/outdoor hitting cages and new video scoreboard. New clubhouse and coaches offices to be added in 2011. Plans to extend seating down the right field line are in the works.
Nebraska
Haymarket Park
-Renovated: 2002 (built new)
-Total seating: 8,486 (4,419 chair back)
-Total cost: $29.53 million
-Specifics: Built as brand new facility as a joint venture between Nebraska, City of Lincoln and NEBCO, Inc. All state of the art amenities found with a new park.
Oklahoma
L. Dale Mitchell Park
-Renovated: 1998 (Phase 1); 2002 (Phase 2)
-Total seating: 2,700
-Total cost: $1.3 million
-Specifics: Phase 1: Created upper concourse, additional restrooms and concession stands. Phase 1A: New lockerrooms, training room, equipment room. Phase 2: Press box renovation, luxury suites added. Practice facility added in 2009 with regulation-size infield, indoor hitting facility (1 million).
Oklahoma State
Allie P. Reynolds Stadium
-Renovated: 1982
-Total seating: 4,000 (1,000 chairback)
-Total cost: $2.2 million
-Specifics: No major renovations have taken place since 1993-94 when seats were added, new fence was built and renovations to the visitor lockerroom and umpire room took place. A new park was to be built with money donated from oilman T. Boone Pickens but those plans have been delayed.
Texas
Disch-Falk Field
-Renovated: 2008
-Total seating: 6,649
-Total cost: $25.8 million
-Specifics: Chairback seating, new luxury suites and press box, remodeled concourse, stadium structure, lockerrooms, training facilities, batting cages, sound system.
Texas A&M*
Olsen Field
-Proposed start date: TBD
-Total seating: 7, 053
-Total cost: 24 million. Have to have certain percentage of that in hand before construction begins. Unknown what percentage number is
-Specifics: Phase 1, $16 million, new lockerroom, lounge, weight room, coaches offices, training area. Plans are to bring seating down to field level without total tearing down existing structure, and also add brick facade. Phase 2: $8 million, Press box, luxury suites, extended seating down left field line. Olsen Field was originally built in 1978.
* — proposed
To comment on this story:
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This is crazy I do not think that a team should get something for being consistently terrible. They should prove that we can win before spending money that winning programs(football) make on a baseball program that has been quite frankly an embarrassment for just about as long as I can remember. More than that they should be taking scholarships away from these kids who are performing poorly and give them to students that are in real need of help to attend college. This is a joke and I hope that it does not happen!
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Good luck getting it built, with budget cuts and lack of fan support and alumni support need to spend the money somewhere else since the basketball teams and now the football teams are in trouble and dont have fan support and are in shambles, kind of like the Marsha Sharp Freeway, road to nowhere, now its the empty million dollar stands, maybe you can sell tickets for a dollar, how sad, fire Myers and the rest, you might get somewhere then, maybe..
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If there is to a quality facility, there has to be a quality team in it. “Build it and they will come”, I doubt it! Sounds more like a field of dreams w/o the corn field……………
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wow you just showed how iggnorant you are Justin. This is going to give tech baseball what they dont have now, facilities. It is embarrasing when you drive by the United Spirit Arena and Jones, and then you drive by dan aw and it looks terrible. If you were a true tech fan you would be truely excited for this oppurtunity to lift Tech baseball from this “terrible state” that you say they are in. Wreck em Tech and go coach spencer.
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Sure I may not your kind of “true tech fan”, but if they show they can win and be something that this University can be proud of then they should get their stadium. However, there are better ways to spend money than on a team that draws at best dozens of people to see them at a time(not including girlfriends, moms and dads). If ignorance is hoping that my university would find the best use for the money that we have here then yes, I am ignorant. Making the stadium nice wont make it any less embarrassing if our team does not preform up to the standard they should on the field. They are getting their education PAID for they should look at it as they owe the University more than to be sub-par(what they are now) or even run of the mill. I believe that our coaching staff can produce but I feel like they should prove it before this kind of money should just be handed to them. The only sport that gets the kind of national recognition deserving of the money they receive is football(they make enough money to take care of them selves, don’t see too many baseball season ticket holders). The only time that college baseball is in the lime light is in Omaha and even when our stadium was brand new I do not believe that you ever saw a Red Raider darken the door post of a stadium in Omaha. I grew up watching Red Raider baseball and there is nothing that I want more than to be as proud of our baseball team as we have been of the football team, but all things do need to be earned and it seems to me as though this program has not given something that Red Raider Nation can be proud of. Does anyone truly think that if someone gave Iowa state the best football facilities in the nation that they would turn into a BCS team??? No they would be a sub-par team that had amazing facilities. Please Coach Spencer prove me wrong and have an breakout season I will be one that supports you with the little that a college student can in your effort to build a new stadium, but make a run at Omaha. Make us proud then we all will stand behind Tech Baseball, but quite frankly its not the time.
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with the current administration in place people will not want to invest a dime into whatever it is that they are doing.
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Let’s see. If you build a 4,400 seat ball park you preclude the possibility of EVER having an NCAA home game. Duh.
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Um…with kent hance and gerald myers in office…………..i wouldn’t spend a dime….not a dime!
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You folks need to get a clue. Texas Tech Basebal is the only men’s team sport that has two Big 12 Championships. How many Big 12 titles does football have? They have a shared south division title—not a Big 12 Championship. Men’s Basketball??? NOTHING.
Track won the Big 12 in 2005 but how many people go to track meets?
Baseball has to have this facility in order to compete. Its time you get over your feelings about Mike Leach, Gerald Myers and Kent Hance and move one with your life. There are other student-athletes at Texas Tech that deserve a chance. You are right, baseball has been down for a few years and there are several contributing factors there but FACILITIES ARE A HUGE REASON. Dan Law Field is without a doubt the WORST in the BIg 12 Conference.
Coach Spencer has two national championships under his belt and wants to win championships here at Texas Tech desperately. Instead of constantly complaining try being supportive. A lot of you are supportive and thats great. But those of you that complain on all these stories are the same people who have been complaining for years.
GO TECH!!!
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I don’t see anything wrong with plans to make the baseball stadium better. Tech will get better if they have the facilities. Good job Tech!!!
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I support the plan and will contribute some money. My bigger question is: How will this help attract young arms? I do not see in the plans any indoor batting cages, better weight room, training room, indoor pitching, etc. Isn’t that what would attract young arms? How about a backstop that is small enough to cut down on the number of runners scoring on a passed ball? How about an expanded foul area between the bases and home plate so that more pop fouls could be caught for outs?
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LOVE the plans. Hope Spencer can find the money to get started on this. This would give us top-notch facilities in all the Major sports
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I went to a ton of basketball and football games while at Tech. Sadly I never went to a baseball game. I definitly would have if we had a facility like the one proposed. (Just being honest).
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As I shared in another post Marsha Sharp started out in the women’s gym and went on to a national championship and now we have the United Spirit Arena; build it and they will come!
Tech Alum
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Spencer was assistant/pitching coach in Oregon so he doesn’t really have two championships under HIS belt. Give credit where credit is due. I have attended several BB games and don’t really think the facilities impacted the outcome of the games. Let’s face it, quality players are going to be attrached to quality programs; ie., UT, Baylor, A&M and as far as baseball goes, Tech won’t reach those levels even if they had a $50 millions stadium. Simply put, if you were a highly talented player coming out of high school and had offers from UT or Tech, where would you go? Heck, Tech couldn’t keep the young man from Frenship from going to OSU and I don’t think OSU’s stadium had anything to do with it.
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You are right Barney. Good players are never going to come to Texas Tech. Lets just ignore all of the All-Americans that we have had in our program, MLB players etc. Those players that have helped Tech win championships in the past.
You sir, are a troll. If you ever go to a Tech sporting event (which I doubt you do) – I hope you never go back.
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I have to agree with Justin. Yes, the baseball team has won 2 Big 12 Championships, but even with that under their belt it doesn’t increase the popularity in baseball. This town loves the game of football and basketball, that’s why there’s more money in it. The football team might not have Big 12 championships won, but hey, the sure do put in a good season. Putting $12 million dollars into a baseball field isn’t going to dramatically change our team or the recruiting process. Trying to get “young arms” by doing $12 million renovations is the saddest thing I ever heard. Brush up on the recruiting techniques. Don’t bribe young men with a shiny new stadium. Because when they do come, and aren’t part of a winning team, they might just transfer somewhere else. Then WE are stuck with a shiny new stadium and the bill.
-Tech Student
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I have to agree with Joe and Techster….as long as the 3 Stooges and the cockroach remain @ Tech, I think the donations, etc. are all about to come to a halt. I, for one, plan on not giving a dime of my money to Tech until they clean house and get rid of some of the top administrators there.
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For the sake of accuracy – Texas Tech athletics has won eleven (11) Big XII team titles since the inception of the conference.
The remodel of Dan Law Field is long overdue. Tech baseball has taken a back seat to Tech Football, Tech Basketball, Tech Softball, Tech Volleyball, Tech Golf, Tech Track & Field and Tech Women’s Soccer. ALL of these programs now have top notch facilities.
Texas Tech Baeball DESERVES the same! Let’s get it done!
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Winning records puts fans in the seats, sadly they havent or the basketball programs either, putting lipstick on a pig doesnt help either, spend the money on something worth while, like scholarships for people that cant afford to go to college, have good grades but dont have the bucks, and why support a corrupt ad and regents anyway.. sad but true.
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Spencer is right…without the facilities…better players will not come to Tech. Same is true of the Football stadium. The school is doing what it needs to do…to bring in the better players. Why are so many Tech fans against making the school a better place. When I was at Tech…the field faced the wrong way and they just had a few metal bleachers. I think the renovations are long overdue. Spencer will turn the program around.
Yes…it is only 4400 seats but there is room for expansion when more money comes in. More seats can be added in the future down the side lines. Even an upper deck.
If you want better…you have to make the facilities better first. Tech is doing just that. Tech is on the rise in several sports and others are turning around. Nothing is instant. Tech was so far behind on renovations it hurt the school. Now they are playing catch up and it is paying off. Give it time. I think in a few years…everyone will see the growth.
Baseball is back at Tech…I don’t think anyone will disagree after this season. Tech has got a pretty good team this year…as long as everyone stays healthy. Tech will easily finish higher then last year. I’d be surprised if they don’t finish in the top 4 in the Big12 this year.
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I am so on board with a new baseball stadium. This is long overdue and can’t be anything but a big help in re-establishing our program. I hope all Tech fans will contribute something to help fund this project.
Coach Spencer – Word on the street is that sufficient funds have been raised at least twice for the new club house at the Tech golf course but it has yet to be built because the funds keep getting diverted for other uses. Don’t let this happen to the baseball stadium funds! Make sure there is a separate fund and accounting set up specifically for the baseball stadium. Keep the public informed as to the progress in raising funds and it will help generate excitement. Good luck!
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Spencer will get arms to come if they have a place at least close to being equal to the rest of the Big 12 teams…. Dan Law is worse than many high school stadiums….
DS is the type of coach that can get us to Omaha…. IF he has a place that at least gives him a chance to recruit…
as for everything else.. I liked Leach as much as anyone.. but in the end, his arrogance helped him throw himself out the door as much as anyone else…
I’m not a millionaire, but I’ll give some directly to the baseball stadium project…. no matter who is in charge, because Tech is bigger than it all.
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Justin
So basically your memory only goes back to 2006?
Have you seen the suites? It looks like a bunch of metal sheds placed on top of high school metal bleachers. It has needed an upgrade for awhile now. It’s hard to get recruits when your stands look like that.
Dumb comment
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bford said: “. . . I’ll give some directly to the baseball stadium project…. no matter who is in charge, because Tech is bigger than it all.”
Well said. Tech will be around long after the haters and the hated are gone.
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It took coach Leach a few years and a few million dollars to excite better recruits. When they finally built the Jones bigger and better, better recruits were telling the coaches that the new stadium with the weight room and new turf is what made up their minds to come.
Every new thing that a university can give their facilitys has to make it a lot better to recruit in any sport.. They have to start somewhere to be able to build a better winning system. With the coaching staff we have now at dan law, this is the way to start in my opinion.
The reason all of the other big, I say big schools are so much better in recruiting is the word money .
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John wrote that Tech Basketball, softball, volleyball, golf, soccer, & track have top notch facilities. With the exception of some success on the golf course and track (individuals mostly), the other programs are stinkers. Soccer, softball, and volleyball teams regularly finish at the bottom of the Big 12, year end and year out. The improved facilities have had little, if any, impact on these bottom-feeding teams. The verdict is still out on the basketball teams but you can form your own opinion on their success since the USA opened or since the current 2 coaches have been in place. Sorry, I don’t buy into this “build it and they will come” idea. KU has been playing in Allen Field House (capacity 16,500) since 1952. They seem to do pretty well in that old concrete barn.
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i myself am very excited about this upcoming baseball season. with opening day next weekend, it should be a very intense season. The bullpen is especially strong this year with bettis making what is likely his last year in the NCAA, expect some fireworks, and maybe just maybe, this is the team to get us to omaha. I’m ready to get my ticket already
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Ready to donate. When and Where?
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Leach extended his contract with the stipulations that Tech would do some renovating to the stadium. Eventually better recruits started coming and the stadium looks great now. If we can do the same for Coach Spencer then I say let’s do it. Wreck ‘Em!!!
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I hope Dan Spencer can raise every dime he needs. He is going to do a spectacular job here at Texas Tech, and I am glad to have him. Good luck Dan and go Red Raiders!
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