TCU Baseball Announces Renovations & New Facilities

The first phase of the project, completed last year, added a tiered berm down the right field line, redid the field of Lupton stadium, moved the fences in and added a new warning track. The third and yet-to-be-announced phase, will add a new locker room, team offices, team meeting rooms, academic enhancement facilities, and a left field berm to the stadium for additional fan seating.

The official release, announcing phase II, from GoFrogs.com:

Lupton Stadium and Williams-Reilly Field is set to undergo an upgrade this fall with the addition of a 20,000 square foot player development area. Construction of the area is slated to begin in late fall with completion in the spring of 2014.

"We are very grateful to our donors for providing the necessary funds to enhance the student-athlete experience in our baseball program," TCU director of intercollegiate athletics Chris Del Conte said. "These upgrades will allow us to continue to recruit on a national level and provide our student-athletes with the opportunity to be successful by having the best facilities possible. It's all a testament to the momentum in our baseball program under the leadership of head coach Jim Schlossnagle."

The planned addition will feature a brand new hitting facility, a relocation of the home bullpen as well as a Field Turf practice area. The hitting facility alone will be a 9,000 square foot area where the home bullpen now resides and will include four 80 foot long cages as well as indoor pitching mounds, a tee and toss area and the latest in video analysis software. The cage system will allow the coaching staff to maneuver the nets to allow for as many as eight players to hit at once or to set the facility up as one large cage for pitcher vs. hitter simulated games.

"This hitting facility will be elite...plain and simple," said head coach Jim Schlossnagle. "It will allow our players to get better at any time of the day or night and it will be incredibly versatile to what we want to do in practice each day."

Along with the hitting facility, a new Field Turf practice area will be installed down the left field line. This area will be used primarily for individual defensive improvement for all players as well as practice in the areas of base running, sliding and bunting.

The hitting facility and practice area will force the home bullpen behind the left field fence and create a great teaching space for the pitching staff and catchers as well. The bullpens will feature multiple mounds as well as turf catching areas.

"We are incredibly grateful to those who have donated to make this great project a reality," said Schlossnagle. "The new indoor facility, turf practice area and bullpens will have a tremendously positive effect on the continued development of both our hitters and pitchers.

"As usual, TCU continues to want to move forward and advance our baseball program along with the nation's elite," said Schlossnagle. "This is the next step in continuing our commitment to Excellence and to winning championships."

Once construction is started, the project is expected to take approximately five months to complete.