Fresno State Athletics
On the Ninth Day of Christmas
12/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | General
Dec. 22, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - On the ninth day of Christmas Timeout brought the Red Wave nine Bulldog Facilities. Fresno State has nine main athletic facilities on campus that include, Bulldog Stadium, Bulldog Diamond, Beiden Field, Wathen Tennis Center, Student Horse Center, Warmerdam Field, Save Mart Center, the new swimming and diving complex and the lacrosse/soccer field.
Bulldog Stadium has serves as the home of Fresno State football, soccer and lacrosse. The stadium holds 41,031 and has been filled at near 100 percent capacity ever since record crowds began to pour into the facility in 2001. No other conference team has experienced the consistently high attendance as have the Bulldogs.
Bulldog Stadium has a natural grass playing surface and a tree-lined concourse, Bulldog Stadium underwent a two-phase expansion project in 1991 which included the addition of more than 10,000 seats -- increasing the stadium's capacity from 30,000 to 41,031 -- and the construction of 22 sky suites. Other improvements included additional restrooms and concession facilities.
Original construction of Bulldog Stadium began in June of 1979 following what was then the most successful capital fundraising project ever undertaken in the San Joaquin Valley. Local residents raised in excess of $7 million for the project. No state tax dollars or student fees were used to build the stadium.
Bulldog Diamond is home to the Fresno State softball team. Bulldog Diamond is Regarded as one of the finest in the country, the Bulldogs play in a stadium like no other on the collegiate ranks as the facility boasts a seating capacity of 3,288 and a home field record of 349-68 (.836) since 1996. The stadium was singled out in the summer of 2000 by the American Institute of Architect San Joaquin for its "excellence in design and execution."
The $3.2 million softball stadium features 1,688 permanent seat-back chairs that include 388 box seats, sunken dugouts, lights, concessions stands, restrooms, practice areas, enclosed batting cages, press box with 24 telephone lines as well as a contemporary scoreboard and message center. Completely fenced in, Bulldog Diamond is 205 feet down the lines and 220 feet to center field.
Fresno State owns three of the top 10 NCAA all-time largest softball crowds, including most in a single-date with 5,724 versus Arizona (March 14, 2000) and 5,427 versus UCLA (February 24, 1996). The Bulldogs have set the NCAA single-date regular season record five times (1993, 3,517; 1989, 3,357; 1988, 2,583; 1996, 5,427; 2000, 5,724) while averaging at least 1,000 fans per single-date in a single-season 18 of the last 19 years.
Pete Beiden Field is home to Bulldog baseball. The stadium is named after former Fresno State baseball coach Pete Beiden, who guided the Bulldogs to 600 wins in 21 seasons from 1948-69. Beiden was inducted into the College Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1972 and was honored with a 7-foot statue last season. The ballpark originally was called Varsity Park before being renamed in Beiden's honor in 1972.
The facility was built in 1966 and redesigned in 1983. It features 3,575 theatre-style seats, a spacious press box, locker rooms, new restrooms and concession stands, offices for the coaching staff, four batting cages and six mounds inside two bullpens.
The Spalding G. Wathen center is the home of both men's and women's tennis. The tennis center opened on Feb. 1, 1998, the Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center is one of the premier tennis facilities in the western United States and has become a key fixture in the recent success of the Fresno State men's and women's tennis teams.
The facility has played host to numerous NCAA events as well as the 2001 WAC Tournament. The men's team hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament in 1999 and 2000 while the women did the same in 2001, 2007, and 2008. Perhaps the Center's most memorable match came during the 1999 NCAA's, when Fresno State knocked off USC 4-1 in the second round before a throng of over 1,000 enthusiastic fans.
The Tennis Center was a result of a $250,000 donation from longtime Fresno State tennis supporter Spalding Wathen, an area hombuilder. The donation turned a good facility into a great one. Not long after receiving Wathen's donation, three new courts were constructed and six existing courts were resurfaced. A raised earthen berm was constructed alongside the six southernmost courts and an elevated viewing platform consisting of steel reinforced concrete was built between the six main courts.
The Student Horse Center, located on the Fresno State campus, is the site of all Fresno State equestrian home shows. The horse center is home to more than just Bulldog equestrian. Sponsored by the Department of Animal Science, the Student Horse Center is run and operated by students, and provides a variety of opportunities for students within the department. Animal Science students are responsible for the care, exercise and feeding of all university and privately-owned horses housed at the center.
The facility features 20 stalls in a main barn, 20 more in an adjacent pipe barn and four additional turnout pens. There is often a waiting list for boarding at the center which maintains full capacity most of the year, housing up to 50 student, university and privately-owned horses at a time.
Warmerdam Field has been playing host to Fresno State track and field meets since its construction in 1976. The nine-lane, 400-meter on-campus facility is named after Cornelius "Dutch" Warmerdam, the former Fresno State head coach and world record holder in the pole vault.
Over the past decade, Warmerdam Field went through another facelift, adding grass berms around the east and south sides of the track. The grassy knolls provide additional seating as well as an aesthetic barrier to the surrounding parking.
The first-ever dual meet held at Warmerdam was on April 23, 1977, when Fresno State hosted California. Most recently, Warmerdam Field hosted the 2007 WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
The Save Mart Center, which you read about in an earlier story (See the sixth day of Christmas), is home to Fresno State volleyball and men's and women's basketball.
The two newest facilities still under construction are the swimming and diving complex and the lacrosse/soccer field. The swimming and diving complex is currently under construction by Bulldog Diamond and will be complete in 2010. The lacrosse/soccer field is currently used as the practice field.
On the ninth day of Christmas Timeout brought the Red Wave nine Bulldog facilities, eight women's tennis WAC championships, seven years of Joe Kearny Award winners, six years in the save Mart Center, five years of Cleveland, volleyball a fourth place finish, their best finish in five years, three-pointers from women's basketball, two national championships and the No. 1 women's tennis doubles team.
