April 24, 2008
NORMAL, Ill. -
The official groundbreaking ceremony for the new Illinois State baseball stadium will take place Saturday, May 3 on Duffy Bass Field prior to the Redbirds' 2 p.m. game against Interstate-74 rival Bradley.
ISU Director of Athletics Dr. Sheahon Zenger will emcee the ceremony, which will begin approximately at 1:40 p.m. He will be joined at the podium by Illinois State University President Dr. Al Bowman and board of trustees' member Michael McCuskey, who was a member of Illinois State's 1969 NCAA College Division Championship baseball team.
"This has been a long-time coming for everyone who has been involved with Redbird baseball over the years," said Zenger. "When I first arrived at Illinois State, I earmarked a number of facilities that needed to be addressed as part of the Redbird Renaissance vision. The baseball stadium was included in that piece, and I would like to publicly thank everyone, especially the leadership of president Al Bowman, Judge McCuskey and state representative Jay Hoffman, that played a role in making this day a reality."
The stadium is slated to open prior to the start of the 2009 baseball season. It will include 1,000 chair-back seats, ticket office windows, restrooms, concession stands and a new press box facility.
Tickets for the baseball game against Bradley can be purchased in advance by contacting the Redbird Arena Ticket Office at 309/438-8000.
