UC Baseball Stadium (formerly UC Ballpark and Marge Schott Stadium) is a baseball stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. It is the home field of the Cincinnati Bearcats. The stadium holds 3,085 people and opened in 2004. The stadium was named after late Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott from 2006 to 2020, when her name was taken off due to renewed controversy over her racist remarks.
 | |
| Former names |
|
|---|---|
| Location | 99 W. Corry St. Cincinnati, OH 45219 |
| Coordinates | 39°07′48″N 84°30′49″W / 39.130102°N 84.513644°W |
| Owner | University of Cincinnati |
| Operator | University of Cincinnati |
| Capacity | 3,085 |
| Field size | Left Field: 325 ft (102 m) Left-Center: 370 ft Center Field: 400 ft (122 m) Right Center: 370 ft Right Field: 325 ft (102 m) |
| Surface | Motz Group's TriplePlayTM HP System |
| Opened | May 20, 2004 |
| Tenants | |
| Cincinnati Bearcats (NCAA) (2004–present) | |
Name
editIn 2006, the stadium was renamed to Marge Schott Stadium, after former Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott, two years after her Marge and Charles J. Schott Foundation donated $2 million to the university's athletic department for the Richard E. Lindner Varsity Village.[1]
At one point, the university expressed interest in renaming the stadium to "Kevin Youkilis Field at Marge Schott Stadium", after former Bearcat and major leaguer Kevin Youkilis.[2][3] However, Youkilis, who is Jewish, declined to be associated with Schott, who was known for racist and anti-Semitic statements.[2][3] Youkilis recalled his father saying to him: "Kevin that is a tremendous honor that they would think of doing this. The only problem is that our family name will never coexist with that other individual. I will never let our family name be next to someone that was filled with such hatred of our Jewish community."[2] In 2020, Bearcats pitcher Nathan Moore along with Youkilis called for the university to remove Schott's name from the stadium.[4]
On June 23, 2020, the university's board of trustees voted unanimously to remove Schott's name from both the stadium and a space in the university's archives library, effective immediately.[1]
Facilities
editThe stadium holds 3,085 people and opened in 2004.[5]
In August 2014, TriplePlay HP System turf was installed, replacing the original field turf. All areas of the field, including the warning track, home plate, pitcher's mound, and bullpens are now turf.[6] In 2012, college baseball writer Eric Sorenson ranked the stadium as the third most underrated venue in Division I baseball.[7]
Attendance
editLargest baseball attendance (since 2000)
edit| Rank | Date | Attendance | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 11, 2022 | 3,125 | Cincinnati 12 – Northern Kentucky 6 | [8] |
| 2 | March 1, 2023 | 2,513 | Cincinnati 12 – Miami (OH) 15 | [9] |
| 3 | March 2, 2022 | 2,451 | Cincinnati 5 – Ohio State 4 | [10] |
| 4 | May 15, 2018 | 2,363 | Cincinnati 14 – Ohio State 4 | [11] |
| 5 | May 20, 2004 | 2,200 | Cincinnati 3 – UAB 14 | [12] |
| 6 | March 5, 2022 | 2,042 | Cincinnati 4 – Northwestern 2 | [13] |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Jenkins, Keith (June 23, 2020). "UC to remove Marge Schott's name from two locations". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
- ^ a b c "University of Cincinnati Players Want Racist Ex-Reds Owner's Name off Stadium". 8 June 2020.
- ^ a b "Bearcats to remove Schott's name from stadium". 23 June 2020.
- ^ Jenkins, Keith (June 7, 2020). "UC pitcher, Kevin Youkilis want Marge Schott's name removed from stadium". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
- ^ "UC Baseball Stadium". University of Cincinnati Athletics. Archived from the original on 2009-11-06. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
- ^ "Baseball Begins Synthetic Turf Renovation at Marge Schott Stadium". GoBearcats.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
- ^ Sorenson, Eric (5 October 2012). "Distiller's Dozen - The "Hey, Nice Stadium" Edition". CollegeBaseballToday.com. Archived from the original on 29 November 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
- ^ "Bearcats Top NKU, Sell Out UC Baseball Stadium". 11 May 2022.
- ^ "Cincinnati Falls to Miami (OH) in Slugfest". March 2023.
- ^ "Cincinnati secures 5-4 walk-off victory over Ohio State". 2 March 2022.
- ^ @GoBearcatsBASE (May 16, 2018). "Thank you to the 2,363 fans who joined us yesterday for our annual Education Day! You helped us set a Marge Schott Stadium attendance record!👏" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ @GoBearcatsBASE (May 20, 2021). "On this date in 2004, the Bearcats host UAB in the first game ever played at UC Baseball Stadium. A then-record crowd of 2,200 fans are in attendance" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ @GoBearcatsBASE (March 5, 2022). "This afternoon's attendance: 2,042. Cincinnati is a baseball town" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
External links
edit- University of Cincinnati Athletics – UC Baseball Stadium
- Mounir Lynch (February 28, 2018). "Opinion | Should our baseball stadium be named after Marge Schott?", The News Record.