Baggett Stadium Enhancement Project

Baggett Stadium Enhancement Project

ore than two years after the old clubhouse was demolished at Baggett Stadium, the Dignity Health Baseball Clubhouse was dedicated with a virtual ribbon-cutting ceremony last August. Mustang Director of Athletics Don Oberhelman, French Hospital Medical Center President and CEO Alan Iftiniuk, head baseball coach Larry Lee and players Mark Armstrong and Kaden Sheedy were on hand for the historic ribbon-cutting ceremony. "I want to congratulate Coach Lee on this beautiful, beautiful facility," said Iftiniuk, representing Dignity Health of the Central Coast, a major partner of Cal Poly athletics. "It is amazing and I want to thank Don for all of the great work he has done with the athletic programs here at Cal Poly. It's an incredible, incredible facility, well earned and well deserved by your leadership and by the success of this team. We can't wait to play ball, so thank you. Congratulations on a beautiful facility." Added Lee, "The Dignity Health Baseball Clubhouse checks all the boxes. It's a fabulous building both on the outside and on the inside. The coaches and players are excited to get settled in. We are lucky to have so many donors that got behind this project. A big thanks to all." The $9.4 million project covering 10,679 square feet over two floors includes the Jim Newkirk Pavilion (a multi-purpose room

Mfor players and donors which includes a kitchen, meeting and study space and a balcony for outdoor viewing of games), Maas Family Locker Room, Krukow Athletes Lounge and Kitchen, Burns Family Foundation Sports Medicine Room, Rumsey Athletes Lobby and Mudroom, showers and an academic center. Also included are offices for the coaching staff and managers, dressing room for umpires, a therapeutic cold plunge pool and a

Baggett Stadium Enhancement Project

The $9.4 million Dignity Health Baseball Clubhouse covers 10,679 square feet over two floors.

full commercial laundry facility.

"It's a great day to be a Cal Poly Mustang as we finally officially open the Dignity Health Baseball Clubhouse," Oberhelman said. "I thank all of you for your dedication to this project and for your loyalty to Cal Poly and Cal Poly baseball. Since there were so many people who donated to this project, it proves that this community really comes together around these special projects such as this."

Over 100 people made donations for the project, including 33 at $100,000 or greater.

"I am amazed at the support and grit of the Cal Poly community, who found a way to elevate the college baseball environment at Baggett Stadium to one that is now world class," said Jason Novi, a Mustang pitcher under Ritch Price from 1995-97. "The Dignity Health Baseball Clubhouse will not only provide a big-time advantage for our program on the field and in recruiting battles, but it will also enhance the development of the players and team culture off the field."

"Don, (Senior Associate Athletics Director for Development) Ashley (Offermann) and Larry approached me in 2013 to share the vision of a next-generation baseball clubhouse facility," added Maas, an infielder and outfielder from 1981-85, a 1984 All-American and 1985 Academic All-American. “The idea was bold but completely fitting to build on the legacy of such a storied program.

“As a Cal Poly alum, engineering grad and Mustang baseball player, I was thrilled to be a part of the ground floor capital raise,” Maas added. “Paying it forward to a new era of studentathletes, staff, fans and the community is a small way to express deep gratitude for the opportunities afforded me through Cal Poly. And, after recently touring the completed facility with my wife and children, my wildest expectations of what was possible were smashed as the dream is now reality." While the new clubhouse was being built, several additions were made to Baggett Stadium. In early 2018, backstop safety netting affording fans an unobstructed view of the action on the field was installed and new permanent seating behind the reserved sections raised the capacity to 3,138 fans.

A new $650,000 Daktronics videoboard, 36 feet wide by 20.4 feet high, featuring 1080-by-612 pixel resolution, LED lighting and 10-millimeter pixel pitch, was installed prior to the 2019 season. Private donors covered half of the cost while corporate sponsor and partner Learfield IMG covered the other half of the

videoboard project.

In February 2021, Cal Poly announced a $1 million gift from Bill Hoffman for the final phase of the four-year project to upgrade Baggett Stadium. The gift jump-starts a group of improvements at Baggett Stadium, including an improved entrance to the baseball and softball facilities, new ticket booth, renovations to the baseball press box, chairback seating, batters eye and other cosmetic enhancements.

"President Armstrong and vice president Cindy Villa and the teams that worked for them were unwavering in their support of this project," Oberhelman said. "We had some setbacks and some challenges, but they were supportive and their teams were supportive throughout the entire construction process.”

Present at the August 2020 ribbon-cutting ceremony were, from left, Don Oberhelman, Kaden Sheedy, Alan Iftiniuk, Mark Armstrong and Larry Lee.

Baggett Stadium Enhancement Project

July 2018 December 2018 February 2019

Cal Poly’s $9.4 million Dignity Health Baseball Clubhouse neared completion in the front (left) and back (above) views taken in January 2020. The project includes a two-story, 10,679-square-foot clubhouse complete with a lounge and kitchen, meeting and study space, locker room, training room, offices, and a therapeutic cold plunge pool.

Baggett Stadium Enhancement Project

Demolition of the old baseball clubhouse took place shortly following the conclusion of the 2018 season. In its place is the $8 million Dignity Health Baseball Clubhouse, scheduled to be completed by February.

The clubhouse is the major piece of a three-year project to enhance Baggett Stadium.

New seating and backstop safety netting were installed prior to the start of the 2018 campaign, raising the capacity of Baggett Stadium to 3,138.

Funding for videoboards at Baggett Stadium and Bob Janssen Field totalling $900,000 was secured and the new scoreboards were ready for the start of both the baseball and softball seasons in 2019.

The Daktronics baseball videoboard is 36 feet wide by 20.4 feet tall, the exact size of the old scoreboard, with 1080-by-612 pixel resolution LED lighting and 10-millimeter pixel pitch, exceeding what Major League ballparks have today. Dimensions of the softball videoboard are 25 feet by 14.5 feet.

Corporate sponsor and partner Learfield IMG covered 50 percent of the total cost of the two videoboards.

Other baseball videoboard supporters include the Newkirk Family (Jim and Martha Newkirk, Joe and Ailam Newkirk, Michael and Maria Fong), Robin and Michelle Baggett, David and Bianca Mossman, Jason and Erin Novi, Monty and Sue Waltz, and John and Tracy Ronca.

After brick walls were erected (below), the installation of iron columns and crossbeams for the clubhouse began in February 2019. About 450 feet away, behind the right-field fence, the old scoreboard was dismantled and new videoboard panels were installed in early 2019. A preliminary design of how the videoboard would look when operational is shown below at left.

Baggett Stadium Construction

Cal Poly baseball fans noticed a couple major changes to Baggett Stadium in 2018, the first phase of a three-year project.

In January and February 2018, more than 20 poles were removed and a new net for the backstop was installed, affording fans an unobstructed view of the field. In addition, permanent bleachers were added, raising the capacity of Baggett Stadium to 3,138.

Construction of the Dignity Health Baseball Clubhouse began following the 2018 season. The $9.4 million project included a two-story, 10,679-square-foot clubhouse complete with a lounge and kitchen, meeting and study space, locker room, training room, offices, and a therapeutic cold plunge pool. The project was completed in August 2020. For more details on the project, see pages 13 and 14.