Founders Park, formerly known as Carolina Stadium, is a

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

on the banks of the

Congaree River The Congaree River is a short but wide river in South Carolina in the United States; It flows for approximately 53 miles (85 km). The river serves an important role as the final outlet channel for the entire Lower Saluda and Lower Broad wate ...

. The facility was built for a cost of $35.6 million and is used for

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 ...

as home to the University of South Carolina Gamecocks baseball team.

Facility overview

The dimensions of the field are down the right and left-field lines and to dead center, matching those of

Sarge Frye Field Sarge Frye Field was a baseball stadium in Columbia, South Carolina and served as home field of the University of South Carolina Gamecock baseball team until the 2008 season. The stadium held 6,000 people and was named after a longtime grounds ...

, the previous home stadium of the Gamecocks. The baseball training facilities at the stadium include four indoor batting tunnels, a weight room, team clubhouse, coaches' offices, and a sports medicine room. Among the numerous amenities for fans, there are five luxury suites and two club-level seating areas with lounges, a Gamecock store just inside the main entrance in the outfield plaza, along with a picnic terrace that accommodates around 120 people down the left-field line. The scoreboard towers over the left field wall and features a 28-by-16-foot video screen. The main stadium entrance to Founders Park is located at the northeast corner of the grounds directly behind the center-field wall. Following the 2010 national championship, USC had a mural applied to the backside of its center-field wall (to be viewed as visitors and fans enter onto stadium grounds), celebrating the 2010 CWS Title. In addition, a showcase was built at the base of the wall for the display of the 2010 CWS National Championship Trophy. The mural and trophy case have since been updated to honor both the

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 ...

and 2011 CWS Championship Teams. In 2013, the website ''Stadium Journey'' ranked Carolina Stadium as the second best Division I baseball venue, and received an average rating 4.6 of 5 stars in 7 categories. In 2014, the website ''Stadium Journey'' ranked Carolina Stadium as the best Division I baseball venue, and received an average rating 4.7 of 5 stars in 7 categories. In 2015, the facility name was officially changed from Carolina Stadium to Founders Park, becoming only the third college baseball stadium in the United States to earn a corporate sponsorship.

History

The stadium was opened on February 21, 2009, with a 13–0 South Carolina victory over Duquesne with 8,153 fans in attendance, a record crowd for a Gamecock home game. The ceremonial first pitches were thrown by USC President Dr. Harris Pastides and former Gamecock baseball coaches

Bobby Richardson Robert Clinton Richardson, Jr. (born August 19, 1935) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees from 1955 through 1966. Batting and throwing right-handed, he fo ...

and June Raines.

Darius Rucker Darius Carlos Rucker (born May 13, 1966) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, which he founded in 1986 at the University of South Ca ...

, former lead singer for

Hootie and the Blowfish Hootie & the Blowfish are an American soft rock band that were formed in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1986. The band's lineup for most of its existence has been the quartet of Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, and Jim Sonefeld. The band ...

and USC alumnus, sang the National Anthem. On May 21, 2010, a stadium record crowd of 8,242 attended a game against Florida; the record has been equaled many times since. The highest attendance for a three-game weekend series (24,726) was set from April 15–17, 2011, as the Gamecocks hosted #1 Vanderbilt and won the series two games to one.

Tournaments Hosted

NCAA Regional Tournaments : 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2021 NCAA Super Regional Tournaments : 2011, 2012, 2016, 2021

Key dates

South Carolina Gamecocks' Record in Founders Park (2009–Present)

*Totals only reflect completed seasons

References

External links

Article on new ballparkCarolina Stadium Fact Sheet from The State newspaper
{{coord, 33, 59, 12, N, 81, 2, 38, W, type:landmark, display=title South Carolina Gamecocks South Carolina Gamecocks baseball South Carolina Gamecocks sports venues Baseball venues in South Carolina College baseball venues in the United States Sports venues completed in 2007 Populous (company) buildings