Husky Ballpark

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Husky Ballpark is a college baseball stadium on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle. It is the home field of the Washington Huskies of the Pac-10 conference.

Opened in 1998, Husky Ballpark has a seating capacity of 1,500 and is located about a third of a mile north of Husky Stadium; the ballpark's left field wall borders wetlands adjacent to Union Bay. Originally slated for a permanent concrete grandstand, the spectator seating area remained temporary bleachers through the 2008 season.

For its first seven seasons, the ballpark's infield was astroturf, with the standard cut-out sliding pits at all of the bases. At the time, it was the only artificial turf in the conference. When FieldTurf replaced the astroturf prior to the 2005 season, the dirt sliding pits at the three bases were eliminated. The only cut-out portions that remained dirt are the home plate area and the pitcher's mound. The basepaths and infield "skin" portion, normally dirt on a natural grass field, is gold colored FieldTurf, & the warning track in foul territory is purple. The outfield of Husky Ballpark has been natural grass since its opening in 1998.

This combination of an all FieldTurf infield and a natural grass outfield is similar to the other two Pac-10 ballparks in the Northwest. Bailey-Brayton Field in Pullman installed an all FieldTurf infield for the 2004 season and Goss Stadium in Corvallis installed its in 2007; both had been conventional natural grass fields like the other six ballparks in the Pac-10.

The playing field at Husky Ballpark is oriented in an unorthodox configuration, with the batter and catcher facing southeast, resulting in difficult visual conditions for the fielders on the left side of the diamond for games played near sunset. (The optimal orientation of a baseball diamond is east-northeast.) [1]

From the 1960s through the 1997 season, the Huskies played at Graves Field, a natural grass field located at the northeast corner of campus. [2] Its left field wall bordered NE 45th Street, and the field did not have lights.