Al Worthington Stadium was a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

venue Venue is the location at which an event takes place. It may refer to: Locations * Venue (law), the place a case is heard * Financial trading venue, a place or system where financial transactions can occur * Music venue, place used for a concer ...

on the campus of

Liberty University Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Liberty i ...

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch (1740–1820), John Lynch, the city's populati ...

, United States. It was home to the

Liberty Flames The Liberty Flames and Lady Flames are the athletics teams of Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. They are a member of the NCAA Division I level in 20 sports. LU is a member of the ASUN Conference for most sports. Two sp ...

of the Division I

Big South Conference The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Th ...

. Opened in 1979, the facility was named for former Liberty baseball coach and athletic director

Al Worthington Allan Fulton Worthington (born February 5, 1929), nicknamed "Red", is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of 14 seasons in Major League Baseball for the New York / San Francisco Giants (1953–54, 1956–59), Boston Red ...

. It had a capacity of 2,500 spectators. Plans for a new Liberty baseball venue were announced in August 2011, and

Liberty Baseball Stadium Liberty Baseball Stadium is a baseball venue in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is the home field of the Liberty Flames baseball team, a member of the NCAA Division I ASUN Conference. Liberty will join Conference USA in July 2023. The stadium opened in F ...

opened prior to the 2013 season. Worthington Stadium was demolished in 2013.

History

The venue opened in 1979 as Liberty Field.

was Liberty's head coach at the time. On May 3, 1986, the field was dedicated Al Worthington Field. In 1995, the venue's name was again changed, this time to Al Worthington Stadium. In 1998, the stadium won ''Sports Turf Magazines "Diamond of the Year" award. Beginning in 1999, the stadium underwent a series of renovations. In that year, a 5,200 ft.² hitting complex was added, located down the

left field In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

line. Also, in 1999, the

infield Infield is a sports term whose definition depends on the sport in whose context it is used. Baseball In baseball, the diamond, as well as the area immediately beyond it, has both grass and dirt, in contrast to the more distant, usually grass-c ...

was resurfaced with

bermuda grass ''Cynodon dactylon'', commonly known as Bermuda grass, is a grass found worldwide. It is native to Europe, Africa, Australia and much of Asia. It has been introduced to the Americas. Although it is not native to Bermuda, it is an abundant invasiv ...

. A new

PA system A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...

and backstop were installed in 2000. 2003 construction added an indoor hitting facility,

luxury boxes The luxury box (or skybox) and club seating constitute the most exclusive class of seating in arenas and stadiums, and generate much higher revenues than regular seating. Club ticketholders often receive exclusive access to an indoor part of th ...

, and a clubhouse. Renovations completed in 2008 added stadium lighting and additional seating, which raised capacity by 600-700 spectators. With the addition of stadium lighting, Worthington Stadium's first night game was played on March 28, 2008. On the same night, the stadium set a new attendance record of 3,183 spectators. Liberty lost the game to

Coastal Carolina Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, it became an in ...

5-3 in 11 innings. In August 2011, the university announced plans for a new baseball venue. The plans called for the venue to be built near

Williams Stadium Arthur L. Williams Stadium is a 25,000-seat football stadium located on the campus of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, USA. The stadium was built in 1989 and plays host to Liberty Flames football, which is a part of the NCAA Division I - ...

, the university's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

venue, and to hold 3,000 spectators. The project was projected to cost roughly $5 million. The announcement included plans for Worthington Stadium to become a

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

venue. The stadium closed following the 2012 season. Its final game was played on May 13, 2012, in which High Point defeated Liberty 13-11. It was demolished in 2013.

Naming

The venue was named for

. Following a fourteen-season major league career, Worthington came to Liberty in 1974. As the Flames' baseball coach from 1974 to 1986, Worthington compiled a 343-189-1 record. In each of the last 12 of Worthington's 13 seasons, the program had a winning record. After being named Liberty's

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

in 1983, Worthington continued to coach baseball until 1986. On May 3, 1986, Liberty's baseball field was dedicated to Worthington during his final home game as baseball coach. The Flames defeated

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

19-3.

References

{{Liberty University Defunct baseball venues in the United States Liberty Flames baseball Sports venues completed in 1979 Sports venues demolished in 2013 Defunct sports venues in Virginia 1979 establishments in Virginia Defunct college baseball venues in the United States Baseball venues in Virginia 2013 disestablishments in Virginia