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New women’s softball field to be built

Posted on Jun 22, 2009 in Sports

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The UAB Women’s softball team will finally have an official place to call home on campus starting next spring. Site preparations for the construction of the softball field are taking place and the field will be located on 6th Avenue between 11th and 12th streets.

The Women’s softball team has been playing all of their home games at George Ward Park since the team was formed in 2000. Marla Townsend, the Women’s Softball Head coach, states that it has been well worth the wait.
“I think that it’s well worth the wait,” Townsend states. “We’ve been at the George Ward Park for ten years now and I think that the new field will be a tremendous addition for the athletes. The field could also be used as a great recruiting tool. I take a lot of pride in our athletes. They took a lot of care of George Ward Park, so I know that they will definitely take pride in where they are heading.”

With the convenience of having a field on campus, student attendance to the teams games should increase. At least that is the hopes of Coach Townsend.

“I hope the addition the new Softball field will increase student attendance,” Townsend says. “We have a very good following, but I would like to see the students’ attendance increase.”

Some students believe that their attendance would increase by having the field on campus, such as Deandra Gullette, who is a psychology major.

“I believe that having the field within walking distance of the dorms will increase the chances of students showing up to the games,” Gullette says. “Students tend to flock to events when they are on campus just to see what is going on. I think that the addition of the softball field on campus is a great idea.”

Along with the construction of the field, comes the excitement of the players of the team. Kayla Harris, who played on the team last season, but graduated this past semester, shared her excitement for her former teammates.

“Even though I’m not going to be here, I’m very excited for the team,” Harris says. “I’m excited that they are about to get a new field and they deserve it; they’ve worked so hard. I also think that it will serve as a great recruiting tool.”
The field is being built in three phases and the first phase of construction is slated to be done by January 1, 2010. Townsend explains the hopes that it will be finished before then, but that the first phase should definitely be done by January 2010.

“January 1, 2010 is the date that the field is supposed to be up,” Townsend states. “We hope that it will be up before then so that we could get some fall practices in on it. The stands will initially hold about 500 people.”

The Women’s Softball team has a very upcoming season. Along with the addition of the new field, the University of Alabama will be opening up play on the new field on February 23, 2010.

“UAB’s Women’s softball mentality is to play the best teams in the nation,” Townsend states. “We opened up play for Alabama’s field 10 years earlier and I think that it’s pretty neat that they are returning the favor.”

Email: kse2005@uab.edu