Rice’s Reckling Park gets a makeover

Rice’s Reckling Park gets a makeover

BY JOHN SULLIVAN
Special to the Rice News

Alumni and fans have long known that Rice had one of the top college baseball teams and best stadiums in the country, and now the Owls have the playing field and outfield wall to match.

LARRY MIGGINS

Owl fans look on as baseball players enjoy the new field in Reckling Park.

Reckling Park needed to be remodeled because the stadium, which opened in 2000, faced problems when it rained or when a ball was hit deep into the outfield. After even the mildest shower, it was common to see ankle-deep pools in the outfield or long pitch-black patches of mud.

These problems resulted from the field’s design. In a cost-saving measure, the field was built by putting more than 12 inches of dirt over an old parking area and planting grass.

“There were a lot of times when the field didn’t look good, but the biggest concern was that it was getting less and less safe to play on every year,” said Wayne Graham, Rice head baseball coach. “The people who installed [the new field] really put their hearts into their work. This is now the premier playing field, and the drainage is state-of-the-art. It will be tough to rain us out.”

Improvements in the outfield

The new field and drainage system was only one part of Reckling Park’s renovations.

The stadium’s outfield steel wall was replaced by a forest-green wall that matches the stadium seats and roof. The biggest improvement about the outfield wall, however, is that it is now padded. That’s good news to junior outfielder and preseason all-America candidate Aaron Luna, a Hanszen sophomore.

COURTESY PHOTO

A photo from the 1950s shows the parking lot (inside the red circle) that became Reckling Park.

“My freshman year there was a deep fly, and I went back and jumped to try and make a catch,” Luna said. “The wall was hard enough, but I also got caught on a loose nail or rivet or something. I got chewed up more than once out there. Now it’s better for the players and it looks nicer. It’s more professional.”

There has been a noticeable change outside the outfield left wall as well. Rice decided to keep the dirt from the old field and shape it into a raised mound outside the stadium that stretches all the way from the left field foul pole to the batting screen in center field. The mound was planted with grass, and bleachers were installed. Project manager for the Reckling Park makeover was Max Amery with assistance from Larry Miggins.

The final stage of the upgrade is still in progress. Reckling Park will soon get a state-of-the-art scoreboard and video-board, similar to the one at Rice Stadium.

The 2008 Rice baseball season begins with the program’s biennial varsity-alumni game in early February. The team’s official season-opener is on the road at Long Beach State Feb. 22. The team’s home-opener is set for Feb. 26.

View more photos of the project.