OLE MISS SOFTBALL COMPLEX
OLE MISS SOFTBALL COMPLEX The Ole Miss Softball Complex has been the home for the Rebel softball team for nearly the entirety of the program, bringing in thousands of fans over the years to Oxford. When the University first started its fastpitch program in 1997, it opened with no venue of its own as the team competed at the city softball fields. But, a year later, that changed as the Rebels opened up the Ole Miss Softball Complex in 1998, and have called it home ever since. A venue that hosted the 2011 SEC Softball Championship, the complex features an outfield terrace behind the left field wall similar to the outfield seating at Swayze Field where the Ole Miss baseball team competes. In preparation for the league championship in 2011, upgrades were made to include the outfield terrace, as well as a grilling area, pavilion and a camera platform in center field. Other improvements at the time included a new LED video board and scoreboard, but that has since been replaced prior to the 2016 season by a state-of-the art board that ranks as one of the biggest and brightest in college softball.
Ole Miss has experienced unparalleled levels of success in attendance in recent years, with eight of the top-10 single-game attendance marks having been set since 2016, while eight of the top-10 series attendance marks have been set during the same fouryear span. After shattering the season attendance record in 2016 at 13.506 and surpassing it a year later with a total of 20,499, Rebel Nation again came out in droves the following two years. The season mark of 12,325 achieved in 2019 ranked as the third-highest in the history of Rebel softball. In 2017, All four of the SEC weekend series made the top-10 list for series attendance, and Ole Miss saw three-straight record crowds in the postseason. After breaking the stadium attendance record three times during the 2017 NCAA Regional run, the Rebels saw the record once again fall in 2019 when 1,734 fans packed the stands in Oxford for the series finale against No. 9 Tennessee, coming on the heels of a crowd of 1,678 in Fridays opener against the Vols, the third-largest crowd in school-history.
A $1.2 million renovation project completed in the spring of 2006 included a new indoor hitting/practice facility, a new press box, refurbished dugouts, new video and audio systems, a brick facade lining the grandstands, new lighting, new fencing and netting and a central seating section with chair-back seats.
FACILITY HIGHLIGHTS CAPACITY: 1,000 OPENED: 1998 RENOVATED: 2006 FIRST GAME: FEB. 22, 1998 VS. NICHOLLS (4-0 LOSS) OVERALL RECORD IN STADIUM: 270-252 (.517 - 22 SEASONS) LARGEST CROWD: 1,734 (APRIL 28, 2019 VS. TENNESSEE) SEASON ATTENDANCE RECORD: 23,953 IN 2019 (30 HOME GAMES) SERIES ATTENDANCE RECORD: 4,338 (APRIL 26-28, 2019 VS. TENNESSEE) LONGEST HOME WIN STREAK: 11 (2016) MOST HOME WINS IN A SEASON: 25 (2019) NUMBER OF TOURNAMENTS HOSTED: 26
Included in the 2006 renovation project was the Rebels’ very own indoor facility, which provides the student-athletes a chance to escape from inclement weather, while also offering more room for practices, batting practice areas prior to games, and space for camp instruction. The 6,650 square foot building features three batting cages at one end, and an open area on the other for tee work and other drills. The facility recently underwent a facelift in 2016 to replace the surface, which now features a “Fielders Choice” turf, Enviroturf’s high quality non-infill turf. New nets were also installed that allows anywhere from one open shell to three lanes, making the transformation of the facility an easy task depending on the drill.
(23 regular season home tournaments, 1 SEC Tournament - 2011, 2 NCAA Regional - 2017, 2019)
INDOOR OPENED: 2006 SQUARE FEET OF INDOOR: 6,650
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2021 OLE MISS SOFTBALL MEDIA GUIDE
