Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park (formerly known as Cougar Field) is a

baseball park A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimensions can vary widely from place to pla ...

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. It is the home field of the

Houston Cougars baseball The Houston Cougars baseball team is the college baseball team of the University of Houston. Along with the university's other athletic teams, the baseball team is a member of the American Athletic Conference as a Division I team. They play thei ...

team. Several iterations of the ballpark have existed. The current stadium holds 5,000 people, and opened for baseball in 1995. With a 1,500 square foot Daktronics video board, Schroeder Park features the second-largest scoreboard in college baseball. Since its opening, Schroeder Park has hosted several notable

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 ...

events.Cougar Field
UH Athletics. Retrieved 15 November 2007. In February 2016, the University of Houston announced that, as a response to a large donation to the baseball program, Cougar Field would be renamed Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park.

History

Prior to 1961, the Cougars played at Buff Stadium. The original baseball stadium named Cougar Field was built roughly in the same area as the current one. Before 1968, it existed where

Hofheinz Pavilion The Fertitta Center, formerly known as Hofheinz Pavilion, is a 7,100-seat multi-purpose arena on the University of Houston campus in Houston. Located at 3875 Holman Street, it is home to the Houston Cougars men's and women's basketball teams and ...

is today. To make room for the then new basketball arena, Cougar Field was moved next door.Scholl, Daniel
"Dreams, Days Gone by Mark of Era"
. ''The Daily Cougar''. Retrieved 13 November 2007. This iteration of Cougar Field stayed in the same location until March 29, 1994, when it was demolished in preparation for the establishment of the UH Athletics/Alumni center. To finish the rest of their season's home games, the Cougars played at Texas A&M University's

Olsen Field Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park is a baseball stadium in College Station, Texas, that is home to the Texas A&M baseball program. The stadium was dedicated on March 21, 1978, and is named in honor of C. E. "Pat" Olsen, a 1923 graduate of Texas ...

and crosstown Rice University's

Cameron Field Cameron may refer to: People * Clan Cameron, a Scottish clan * Cameron (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Cameron (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) ;Mononym * Cam'ron (born ...

.Wizig, Jerry
"Cougar Field Stories Abound"
Chron.com. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 13 November 2007.Carssow, Ryan

. ''The Daily Cougar''. Retrieved 13 November 2007. After a multimillion-dollar donation from Cougar alumnus and

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

owner John Moores, the current stadium was built throughout the remainder of the year, and had its first game on February 22, 1995. In late 2013, Houston, citing national competitiveness in recruiting, changed Schroeder Park's playing surface from natural grass to artificial turf. In September 2015, Houston announced a new 20,000 square foot clubhouse and player development center to be constructed for Schroeder Park. In October 2015, a new Daktronics video board with 1,500 square feet of space replaced the original one, and Schroeder Park became host to the largest scoreboard in college baseball.

Events hosted

Since its opening in 1995, Schroeder Park has hosted several notable college baseball events. In, 1999, 2000, 2015, and 2017 an NCAA Regional was hosted at the ball park. Also in 2000, Schroeder Park was home to an NCAA Super Regional. In addition, the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

and

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Conference USA baseball tournaments were both hosted at the ballpark. In 2014, the USA Baseball 18U National Team held trials at the ballpark.

Features

Schroeder Park is a scaled-down version of a major league ballpark. Until October 2015, it featured a scoreboard with a

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...

Vidiwall LED video screen constructed by Spectrum Corporation.Scoreboards
Spectrum Corporation. Retrieved 24 November 2007. It was replaced by a Daktronics video board, known as the "Sanders-Gutierrez Scoreboard", which is the second-largest in college baseball (behind only Arkansas'

Baum Stadium Baum is a German surname meaning "tree" (not to be confused with the French surname Baume). Notable people with this surname include: * Bernie Baum (1929–1993), American songwriter * Carol Baum, American film producer * Christina Baum (b ...

). Schroeder Park seats up to 5,000 spectators, with most of the seats covered by a canopy roof. For players, in addition to locker rooms, there are facilities for indoor batting practice, storage, and laundry. Schroeder Park's press box seats 28, and has booths for television and radio coverage. The field is made of artificial turf, which can increase the running speed, but can also increase injuries as compared to natural grass.

Attendance

In 2010, the Cougars ranked 45th among Division I baseball programs in attendance, averaging 1,262 per home game.

References

External links