Renovations
The UVA Baseball Stadium has been through a series of improvements over its tenure as the home to the Virginia Cavaliers, but none like the upgrades and renovations that have taken place in recent years.
Improvements to the stadium include: a canopied grandstand with 1,500 seats; an additional 500 seats and a grass hillside to provide more seating; six sky boxes for lease by fans and corporate sponsors; stadium lights; new dugouts for the home and visiting teams; an on-site locker room and club house; a new press box, and a new concession area.
Representing a major athletic facility improvement, the University of Virginia installed a new grass playing surface at the then UVA Baseball Field in 1998. The Bermuda grass playing surface - known as Davenport Field - was dedicated on Saturday, April 13, 2002 during Virginia's second contest of a three-game series against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
Following the 2005 season, the left field wall was shortened and moved inward to decrease the distance down the line by 17 feet. The right field was not adjusted as the stadium dimensions became asymmetrical for 2006.
Following the 2006 season, a new scoreboard featuring a video system similar to the ones at the John Paul Jones Arena and Klockner Stadium was installed at Davenport Field. The right field wall was adjusted in association with the project, resulting in a return to symmetrical field dimensions for 2007.
John Paul Jones Arena, or JPJ, is an arena owned by the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. Since its opening in 2006, it serves as the home to the Virginia Cavaliers men's and women's basketball teams, as well as for concerts and other events. With seating for 14,593 fans, John Paul Jones Arena is the largest indoor arena in Virginia and the biggest Atlantic Coast Conference basketball arena located outside of large metropolitan areas. JPJ opened for basketball on November 12, 2006, with Virginia defeating No. 10 ranked Arizona 93–90, handing Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson his first season-opening loss in six years.
Prior to the 2010 season, a new set of facilities under the stadium were constructed, including an on-site visitors' clubhouse, umpire room, coaches' office. A hall of fame dedicated to baseball will also be constructed in the same space.
During the 2010 season, the seating capacity of Davenport Field was progressively increased with the addition of 3 sets of temporary bleachers. This expanded the facility's official capacity from 3,600 to 4,825, with the final addition occurring prior to the school's final ACC series at home versus North Carolina.
Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats hundreds of thousands of people. The largest sporting venue in the world, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, has a permanent seating capacity for more than 235,000 people and infield seating that raises capacity to an approximate 400,000.
The North Carolina Tar Heels baseball team, commonly referred to as Carolina, represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in NCAA Division I college baseball. They compete in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Tar Heels play their home games on campus at Boshamer Stadium, and are currently coached by Mike Fox.
Prior to the May 13, 2011, series versus Miami, 249 General Admission seats were added behind the right field wall increasing the stadium's capacity to 5,074. [2]
The Miami Hurricanes baseball team is the college baseball program that represents the University of Miami.
Prior to the 2013 season, 6 grandstand sections with aluminum bleacher seating were converted to chairback seating, resulting in a reduction of stadium capacity to 4,980.
A new club seating area called the Clubhouse was added to Davenport Field prior to the 2014 season. Located in left-center field, the Clubhouse includes an indoor, climate-controlled area with a cash bar, seating and TVs as well as 65 outdoor chairback seats.
Davenport Field was expanded during the 2017 offseason to include a new grand entry in right field, an extended concourse with permanent chair back seats along the third base line, a field-level club area with seating for up to 140 fans, and new concessions, merchandise, and restroom facilities. The newly renovated stadium includes new areas for player training and development, a new pitching development center, and new offices for the coaches. The new official capacity is approximately 5,500. [3] Prior to the February 21, 2018 home opener against VMI, the university announced that following a donation, the official stadium name would change to Davenport Field and Disharoon Park [4] .
The VMI Keydets baseball team represents the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. The team is a member of the Southern Conference, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. VMI's first baseball team was fielded in 1866. The team plays its home games at Gray–Minor Stadium in Lexington, Virginia. The Keydets are coached by Jonathan Hadra.
