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Cribbin' With the Cats - Chase Bayuk
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In the Weight Room with Coach Scott Bird
MORE FACILITIES UPDATES:
New FieldTurf in Brandeberry Indoor
2008 GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
K-State Tops #3 Arizona State
- One of the most visible changes to the Kansas State program over the last three years has been the complete renovation of the longtime home of the Wildcat baseball team – now called Frank Myers Field at Tointon Family Stadium in honor of Bob and Betty Tointon, the principle benefactors of the stadium improvements. The $3.1 million dollar improvement project makes the 42-year-old stadium not only one of the finest in the Midwest, but also in the fiercely competitive Big 12 Conference.
Officially dedicated on April 20, 2002, before the Wildcats’ tilt with Texas, every facet of the stadium has been improved from a new playing surface with state-of-the-art drainage and irrigation systems to new home and visiting dugouts to a new seating bowl with capacity for over 2,000 fans. The bowl itself provides about 1,731 seats (1,631 in the actual bowl and 118 in the suites).
Players have a 3,150- square-feet locker room complete with 33 custom-built wood lockers, bathrooms, shower facilities and a team room that includes a big screen TV, couch, study tables and computers. The team also takes advantage of a new sports medicine training room, equipment room complete with laundry facilities and weight room. The coaches have spacious offices inside the stadium complete with a conference room and lobby area as well as a coaches’ locker room.
Prior to the 2008, new purple chairback seating replaced bleacher seating behind home plate to give the growing population of fans a more comfortable environment to enjoy the game. Fans can also watch the action from one of five club suites that not only includes the usual comforts of indoor seating, but outdoor seating in purple chairbacks. Surrounding these new suites is the 1,380-square-feet press facility that includes a main press box, radio booths for home and visiting radio as well as a television broadcast booth. The total square footage of the project was around 13,876 square feet.
The exterior of the stadium is lined completely with the limestone to match the exterior of many of the campus buildings, including the university’s most prominent building – Anderson Hall. The limestone was donated by the Bayer Stone Company of St. Mary’s, Kan. The improvements continued in the fall of 2003, as the athletic department added a brand-new lighting system, an electronic scoreboard, an improved warning track and a permanent ticket booth. New batting cages were constructed at the stadium in 2003 as well and were in place for fall practice in 2003.
The stadium was originally dedicated on April 7, 1961, in honor of one-time baseball coach Frank Myers. A student and/or faculty member for over 50 years at Kansas State, Myers was known more for his stint as the director of intramurals from 1948 to 1962. He also served as assistant to three Kansas State athletic directors, including a 20-year stint as the assistant to the legendary Mike Ahearn. In addition to serving as head basketball coach in 1921 and 1922, Myers worked with the Wildcat baseball team for four years – one year as co-head coach with Dougal Russell in 1940 and three years as an assistant. He retired from the university in 1962 before dying at the age of 81 in 1973.
The picturesque facility is nestled southwest of Bramlage Coliseum and sits comfortably among stately pine trees that line the entire outfield wall.
