Pioneer Park: It was nice in 04, but wait
By WAYNE PHILLIPS/Sports Editor
Source: The Greeneville Sun
01-20-2005
If you thought it was nice last year, just wait until this season.
Pioneer Park, Tusculum College's multi-million dollar baseball stadium, continues to change daily, and work is now almost 90 percent complete on the facility, according to architect John Fisher of Fisher + Associates.
While the Greeneville Astros won't begin their 2005 campaign until June, the Tusculum College baseball Pioneers will begin to reap the rewards of the new stadium next month when the college season begins.
"We expect to wrap up construction by the end of February," Fisher said this week. "There may be some concrete (sidewalks and walkways) work to do yet, but everything seems to be well on schedule."
The Astros, the Appalachian League affiliate of the Houston Astros, began playing here last year with rave reviews. The Astros easily led the league in attendance, and more of the same is expected this year.
Meanwhile, Tusculum's baseball coaching staff is enjoying showing recruits and prospective students around the facility.
"It's the best facility in Division II (NCAA) baseball," Tusculum Assistant Baseball Coach Sean Gibbs said this week. "It's just unbelievable... a great recruiting tool for the college."
Gibbs also hopes that the community's vested interest in the Astros will rub off on the Pioneers, and more baseball fans will attend Tusculum's home games this season.
"The community really caught on to the Astros," Gibbs said. "We hope they'll come out and watch us play some, too."
The new administration building, which will house permanent offices for the Astros as well as a year-round Astros' gift store, is almost complete. General Manager Lynsi House and her staff will move into that building, located just to the left of the main entrance of the stadium. They have been operating out of the press box of the baseball stadium since the end of last season.
The building has a large conference room that will be used by the Astros and Tusculum as well. The conference room faces the inside of the ball park with a great view of the mountains in the distance.
Also new is the visitors' dugout building, located down the right field line. New batting cages, already in use by the Pioneers, have been added at one end of that construction.
Coach Gibbs thinks the new batting cages, complete with the indoor turf, the same that is used in the large indoor practice facility, will be a great benefit to the Pioneers.
"We've been getting with it in there," he said. "The cages are covered so we can practice in bad weather. Our early season schedule has us in Florida, and this helps us get ready to play those teams that have better weather than we do."
One of the finer additions to the stadium won't be visible to the general public on game day. That's the new home team clubhouse, located underneath the stands. The team will exit the home dugout and go directly into the locker room.
"Our main focus has been to get the clubhouses ready to go," Fisher said. "They are basically complete, although carpet won't be placed in the locker rooms until landscaping and concrete work is completed outside."
The Tusculum baseball team was dressing in their new digs during practice last week.
"The locker room is just so convenient," Coach Gibbs said. "You just walk right out of the dugout into the clubhouse. Makes you feel like you're in the big leagues."
Another focus for construction is the completion of the entry plaza at the front of the stadium, Fisher noted.
John Doyle, of the local Astros' staff, said last week that there will be three ticket windows available next year at the entry plaza which will speed up admission for games. He also said there are plans for a gate for season ticket holders, which should also make for more convenient entry.
"It should be spit and polish by June," Fisher said.
Meanwhile, Coach Gibbs indicated the Pioneers are looking forward to their new season.
Stepping over construction piles right now "is a mild inconvenience," he said, "because we know when it's all done what we'll have."
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The Astros will bring a new manager and a new pitching coach to their Greeneville team this year.
Russ Nixon, who will begin his 53rd year in professional baseball, will be manager, and Bill Ballou is the pitching coach. They replace Tim Bogar, last year's manager who was promoted to Lexington, and pitching coach Jack Billingham, who retired.
Nixon is best remembered by local baseball fans as manager of the Atlanta Braves from 1988-1990, just before the reign of Bobby Cox began. Nixon also managed the Cincinnati Reds.
Coach Pete Rancont returns for his second year in Greeneville.