$30,000 donation supports UAFS baseball field renovation

story submitted by the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith

The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith athletic department recently began the first phase of its major renovation of Crowder Field with the help of a $30,000 donation from the Dugout Club.

It is the first major renovation of the ballpark, which is named in honor of former Lions baseball coach Bill Crowder, since it was first opened in the spring of 1994.

“It was time that we get this done,” UAFS athletic director Dustin Smith said. “With our transition to being a full-fledged member of NCAA Division II, it just made perfect sense to get the ball rolling now.”

The chain-link fence backstop will be replaced with a modern pro-style net backstop – one similar to those used at most professional baseball ballparks – affixed to a three-foot brick wall that will extend from dugout to dugout.

“We wanted to improve the look of the facility. The chain-link was old and outdated and made it very difficult to watch a ballgame. That, and we had quite a few dollars worth of baseballs logged up in the fencing,” Smith said. “So, we made a decision to put in a new backstop.”

The chain-link fence that extends from the end of each dugout to the outfield fence will be replaced with a four-foot high brick wall.

“It will make it much more aesthetically appealing,” Smith said.

A portion of the project is being funded by a $30,000 donation from the Dugout Club, which is the baseball booster club. Smith said he was very appreciative of the gift from the Dugout Club and the fundraising efforts of Dugout Club president Vic Pongonis and member Chip Miller.

“As we continue to get more donations, whether from the Dugout Club or other individuals, we are going to continue to make more renovations to the park,” Smith said. “There are few more things we would like to get done, like a covered batting cage and a covered seating area.”

The renovation project began in June with head groundskeeper “Taz” Tongier, head baseball coach Dale Harpenau and associate head coach Shohn Doty performing much of the demolition work and fence removal during the early stages of the project.

“I have to give ‘Taz’, coach Harpenau, and coach Doty credit because they’ve been out there tearing down fence. This summer hasn’t been real kind heat-wise, and they’ve been out there in a lot of hot weather,” Smith said. “They’ve been out there pulling down fence and moving chain-link trying to help speed this process along.”

Smith said he expects the first phase of the renovation project to be completed sometime in early fall.