Long Beach State is currently looking to renovate Blair Field which has served as the Dirtbags home field since 1958. The stadium received a renovation in 1993 which included new seats, a new roof, new lights for 1.4 million dollars.
The new plans for the stadium is to build a practice infield down the left field line, new modern batting tunnels, and part of the right field wall will be shortened to accommodate a new bullpen. The final piece of the project will be new lights to solve shadows in the gaps and center field during night games. The current estimate on the costs of this project is between 8-12 million.
Coach Buckley thinks these renovations will help the Dirtbags return to their glory days where they were one of the top programs in the country. He stated to Long Beach Press Telegram the following:
“You can look at the competition all across the board and see what we’re dealing with. There are universities investing money in their baseball programs and creating fields and clubhouses that are often better than minor league facilities.
“Blair Field has such a great history that kids know the park before they get here. But there’s a fine line when you look at locker rooms and other facilities in the park.
“Kids want to come here because of what (former coaches) Dave Snow and Mike Weathers created and they know Blair’s history. But at a certain point you have to be able to compete facilitywise with the colleges that are building new parks.”
Long Beach Press-Telegram Article
