Project Details
Client: CSU, Fresno / Darden Architects
Location: Fresno, California
Type: Recreation / Athletic Facility
Size: 2,600 seats
Completion Date: 1996
Construction Cost: $3.2 million
Interesting Fact: Fresno State, which also has been a four-time NCAA national runner-up and is the only school to have appeared in every NCAA tournament, showcased a new home for its softball program in 1996. Regarded as one of the finest in the country, the Lady Bulldogs play in a stadium like no other on the collegiate ranks. 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."
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As nice as they come, this Division 1A softball stadium included the most modern amenities available in field lighting, drainage systems and landscape irrigation to ensure it would be one of the most competitive collegiate playing surfaces on the West Coast. Opening night at Bulldog Diamond brought an NCAA record crowd of 5,427.
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.
The project also included restrooms, concessions, maintenance facilities, traffic planning and access roads. Blair, Church & Flynn was partner on a team of design professionals responsible for creating a stadium that the whole Central Valley could be proud of, and a place where the Lady Bulldogs of California State University, Fresno, would become NCAA softball champs.