Aloha,
In town for my daughter’s UA graduation. Family and I attended Friday night’s 4-1 win. My first game at Baum-Walker since my college days of attending games at George Cole. We were immensely impressed by the game’s atmosphere. Top notch.
If $$$$ was no object, I wish there was greater seating, especially around the infield. Not enough capacity at BW. It breaks my heart the student section is located in the outfield. That doesn’t sit well with me. Not right.
If I ever win the lotto, I will offer to plant a forest of trees beyond the outfield to make the stadium more intimate and hide the present view of apartments and city traffic.
Food was better than RRS and BW. Perhaps they do have some space to actually prep and cook some items on site….a big whiff at RRS and BW.
Loved the choreography at BW. Again, better done at BW than RRS. Really well organized and tight. Never heard the Hogs fight song at a baseball game before! Gave me chills.
Participated in the BW bases loaded tradition. Glad Diggs delivered.
As we say in our Navy, Bravo Zulu to the UA Baseball team and BW organizations for providing an incredible class act bringing great credit upon themselves and pride to the State, the University, students and fans. WPS!
UA…Campus of Champions
Guy, as I recall they used to designate some seats down the third base line for students, but they were rarely used. That was the case when my son was a student about 10 years ago. Also, the infamous cup showers at Ole Miss are from the student section in right field.
All student sections in baseball are in the outfield.
Students wouldn’t want to sit in the stands anyway because they can bring their own cooler into the outfield with their own beer.
The last place students want are the grandstands of college baseball. There are rules there. Hogpen = no rules.
College baseball venues are not built to handle the over flow crowds for the two warm weekends of May.
They are built for the capacity needed for 95 percent of the season.
It’d be expensive but it’d be nice to double deck the area above the concourse and put the luxury boxes above the second deck. Or maybe add a second level of suites.
Aloha,
The students I have met on the Hill in the past four years have all expressed their strong desire to have seating available in the concourse area and not to be regulated to the outfield. Not all students are of the Animal House variety. There are cerebral students who love the game of baseball and as students think they should have a devoted student section by the infield.
UA…Campus of Champions
I don’t doubt that there are students who would prefer to sit in the stands. But I personally saw those empty student seats on an SEC Friday night 10 years ago. Use it or lose it; they lost it and I don’t expect they’ll get it back. Hunter is making too much money off donations for those seats.
I’m wondering if it would be feasible to put terraces in the Hogpen, to improve the sightlines for those who can’t wait in line to race for the prime spots along the fence. Or maybe a deck of seats ABOVE the Hogpen?
I have long wished they would terrace the HogPen
Much of right field is not viewable unless you are up against the rail out there
More often than not, one can sit in the seats no matter where the ticket is. It’s just not packed in the mid-week or even many weekend games
Have also wondered if Baum was designed with the option to expand to an upper deck &/or suites. As NWA grows & Hogs remain competitive, demand for more seating will grow. BWA is next on the list for major upgrades so any $ for Baum is years away. Too bad limited on space in outfield for high rise alumni or student condos, same as MS St, which would bring in big $.
They could absolutely build condos in left field, but it would knock out the HogPen. Or move the scoreboard and put something there (scoreboard on the roof of the Hunt Center maybe?).
The university won’t do it because those seats will go unused. Also, a baseball ticket is highest demanded ticket out of all the sports.
As someone who watches just about every game live or on delay, I just don’t see true expansion coming for some time.
Our fans are great - that’s why we’re always in the top 3 or 4 in attendance each year. But during the early season non-conference games, we often have 2 to 5,000 show up to brave the elements and watch the lackluster opposition. We generally have 3 or 4 series a year when we have top level SEC teams during good weather and pack the place. You can’t expand for 20% of the games.
I think we’ve got it just right. A few minor tweaks, perhaps. But no major expansion - at least, for now.
With UofA in desperate need for more dorms & with limited land, using the left & right outfields for high rise dorms behind 10 or more rows of seating might make sense for students or alums & would be in demand & lucrative. UofA could lease the property & the outside private developer fund the construction. Just a thought.
That’s why I think double decking suites might work. There’s strong demand for premium seats. Doing that would add 200 or so and might free up some seats along the sidelines. Not sure what could be done beyond the outfield fences.
Aloha Wiz,
The challenge we have is that all of the seats are sold out and then put up for resale at astronomical prices. The students and average mid to low income fans are priced out from sitting in the concourse area.
Perhaps a procedure could be installed to allow the students to sit in unoccupied seats. Perhaps after the third inning.
UA…Campus of Champions
They can already do this at any time. The vast majority of students (as well as some of us who haven’t been students in a great number of years) prefer being in the Hog Pen where you can bring in your own chairs and coolers full of food and beer/soft drinks, etc.
Makes for a really cheap and fun experience for a college kid (or an old man) on a budget.
On days like today, where it starts to get a little warm, I will go find a regular seat in the shade for a couple innings or watch from the standing area behind the baselines and home plate and then return to outfield when I get hungry or thirsty
That is surely how I would do it too.
I don’t need a seat. I never sit down when I am in The Bud either.
Put my old butt in the Hog Pen!
If students had used seats for baseball, they would not have lost them. They are like most folks, they want to come when it warms up. They don’t always use them.
I would keep putting them in Hogpen.
I have more sympathy for those who lost their seats because they could not afford the big donation.
You must have someone trustworthy to watch your beer when you’re in the shade? Or, you have Bud Lite in the cooler.