Alfred A. McKethan Stadium at Perry Field was the

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

stadium of the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, serving as the home field for the

Florida Gators baseball The Florida Gators baseball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of baseball. Florida competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (S ...

team until being replaced by

Florida Ballpark Condron Family Ballpark at Alfred A. McKethan Field is the college baseball stadium of the University of Florida, and serves as the home field for the Florida Gators baseball team. Condron Ballpark is located on the university's Gainesville, ...

in 2020. McKethan Stadium was located on the university's

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gaine ...

campus, in close proximity to the university's indoor sports arena, the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, and its

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 ...

stadium,

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (in full Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium),Alfred A. McKethan, a University of Florida

alumnus Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

and successful Florida banker, businessman, and politician who contributed significant funds for the reconstruction and expansion of the stadium. McKethan donated the equivalent of $800,000 for the reconstruction and improvement of the stadium in the 1980s and 1990s. The playing field was named for Carl E. "Tootie" Perry, a former

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of ...

player who was the Gators' first All-Southern selection in 1920 and 1921 and team captain in 1921. Perry's family formerly owned the land on which the baseball stadium was built, and donated the land to the university.GatorZone.com, Facilities
McKethan Stadium at Perry Field
. Retrieved July 27, 2014.

History

In the earliest years of baseball at the University of Florida, club teams played at a field in downtown Gainesville's Porters Community. In 1911, the team moved on campus to Fleming Field, where the northern endzone of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium stands today. The varsity team was founded in 1912 and continued to play at Fleming Field through 1948. Eventually, an expansion to the football stadium forced the team to move 500 yards southwest to Perry Field. Wanting to improve college baseball facilities in the state of Florida,

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

owner

George Steinbrenner George Michael Steinbrenner III (July 4, 1930July 13, 2010) was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees from 1973 until his death in 2010. He was the longest-serving own ...

provided funds for the university to install lights at Perry Field in 1977. Perry Field went on to host three exhibitions (in 1977, 1981, and 1987) where the Gators faced the Yankees. The most memorable of these was the March 23, 1977 contest, where an overflowing crowd of 3,820 saw the Gators mount a valiant effort in a 10-9 defeat. Perry Field was further improved in 1981 with a $10,000 donation by former catcher Tom Shannon. A home team dugout, training room, and storage area were added to the facility. A notorious hill in left field, which rose 30 feet to the wall, proved an imposing obstacle to visiting outfielders. Funded by Alfred McKethan, other athletic boosters, and the state government, a $2.4-million concrete stadium was constructed in 1987 to replace the existing bleachers at Perry Field for the 1988 season. The stadium was dedicated in McKethan's honor on February 23, 1988, before a 3-2 victory by the Gators over

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. Initially seating 3,300 spectators (2,500 grandstand, 800 chairback), capacity was increased to 4,300 in the summer of 1995 with an expansion to the grandstand. A further $650,000 worth of renovations the following year improved the plaza surrounding the grandstand as well as the press box. New grass was installed in 1997 while 700 more seats were added along the left field line. The final major renovation to McKethan Stadium came in 2006, when $13 million was spent to improve the stadium and the adjacent Lemerand Athletic Center. The project incorporated a new baseball-specific building, the roof of which became the Don and Irene Dizney Plaza, a location where fans could overlook the field from above the foul territory in left field. Additional seating was also built, including 400 bleacher seats in left field, increasing the capacity to 5,500. A high-resolution videoboard was added beyond right field in 2012. The Gators finished 33 seasons at McKethan Stadium after hosting 1,214 games of baseball, with 911 victories to just 303 defeats (.750). The stadium also hosted the 1989 SEC Tournament, 16 NCAA Regionals, and nine NCAA Super Regionals. Won by Florida in bold

Facilities

The stadium facility was a concrete structure that seated approximately 5,500 fans, including 2,408 chairback seats around the inner diamond. The asymmetrical stadium seated about two-thirds of its spectators left of home plate. Outfield seating was limited to a section of bleachers in left field. Visible past left field was the O'Connell Center and Ben Hill Griffin Stadium behind it, while the view beyond right field was of the Graham Woods Conservation Area. The courtyard-like plaza surrounding the grandstand could host food trucks and merchandise stalls, while permanent concession facilities and restrooms were built under the grandstands themselves. A south entrance provided entry to the right field stands while a north entrance gave access to the left field stands (ticket booths were available at both entrances). Facilities included a training center, video room, staff offices, and locker rooms for both home and visiting teams. The Gators' bullpen and batting cages were enclosed, under the Dizney Plaza. File:Alfred A. McKethan Stadium viewed from the outfield bleachers.jpg, McKethan Stadium seen from the outfield bleachers File:McKethan Stadium Pressbox.jpg, McKethan Stadium Pressbox File:2013 Florida Gators Baseball.jpg, The Gators in action on February 17, 2013 File:FloridaVsFloridaState03-13-18.jpg, A sell-out crowd watches the Gators face the Florida State Seminoles in 2018 File:Carl Perry.png,

Tootie Perry Carl Esmond "Tootie" Perry (February 4, 1896 – August 9, 1946) was an American college football player. He played at the guard position and was the first All-Southern player for the Florida Gators football program of the University of Florid ...

, namesake of Perry Field

Attendance and records

In 33 seasons of baseball, McKethan Stadium hosted over 3.2 million fans for Florida home games. Support was greatest in the ballpark's final 11 seasons, with an average of over 3,000 spectators per game each year. Ultimately, 61 contests drew a crowd of 5,000 or greater. Attendance at McKethan Stadium peaked in 2018, the year following Florida's first national championship campaign. That season, the Gators ranked ninth among Division I baseball programs in total attendance with 165,551 persons attending 41 games and 14th in average attendance with 4,038 persons per home game. In 21 of its final 23 seasons, McKethan Stadium finished in the top 15 nationally for total attendance. The record for highest attendance in a single game at McKethan Stadium was set on April 9, 2016; a total of 6,244 spectators watched

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univers ...

defeat the Gators 10-4 in the second game of a three-game series. This defeat ended the longest home winning streak in school history, a 29-game run that spanned the 2015 and 2016 campaigns. A season later, the highest total attendance record for a three-game series was made on February 26, 2017; 16,807 tickets were sold for the Gators' sweep of

. The best-attended two-game series in the ballpark's history was the 2015 Gainesville Super Regional, when 11,481 fans witnessed Florida sweep

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

Replacement

On October 9, 2017, the University Athletic Association submitted a project plan to the University of Florida outlining a new baseball stadium that was expected to begin construction in September 2018 and be completed by the end of 2019 with a budget of $50 million. Following delays, construction ultimately began February 2019 and concluded in August 2020, with a finished budget of approximately $65 million. The new stadium increased available chairbacks from 2,408 to 4,000 with 700 club seats and an expandable capacity of about 10,000. The design includes a 360-degree concourse, shade canopy, and open air seated grandstand. The new facility is located on the Southwest part of campus, adjacent to Pressly Softball Stadium and Dizney Stadium, utilizing of land previously occupied by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences (UF/IFAS). UF/IFAS facilities on this property were relocated to a nearby part of campus.

References

External links