Gary Hogan Field is 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 located in

Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

, United States. It has been home to the

Little Rock Trojans The Little Rock Trojans are the athletic teams representing the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The Trojans are a non-football member of the Ohio Valley Conference and a wrestling affiliate member of the Pac-12 Conference. The University of ...

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 ...

team of the Division I

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...

since 1978Gary Hogan Field
at ualrtrojans.com, URL accessed June 22, 2010
Archived
June 22, 2010 and also the home of the

Arkansas Baptist College Arkansas Baptist College (ABC) is a private Baptist-affiliated historically black college in Little Rock, Arkansas. Founded in 1884 as the Minister's Institute, ABC was initially funded by the Colored Baptists of the State of Arkansas. It is th ...

Buffaloes junior college baseball team of Region 2 of the

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

. Formerly known as Curran Conway Field, the venue has a capacity of 2,550.Gary Hogan Field
at ballparks.baseballyakker.com, URL accessed June 22, 2010
Archived
June 22, 2010

History

When the Trojans began using the facility in 1978, the field was in poor condition. This forced the program to play home games at other fields in

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

during the early 1980s. When Coach Gary Hogan arrived in 1986, he described Curran Conway Field as "a rock pit and dust bowl." Hogan secured donations from both

alumni 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 the surrounding community to make numerous improvements to the field, making it playable for a Division I team.

Name

The field is named for former Little Rock baseball coach Gary Hogan. Hogan coached for 11 season from 1986 to 1996, recording 276 victories in that span. His career victories mark stands as a record for UALR baseball coaches.

Renovations and features

Following Coach Hogan's arrival in 1986, the field underwent many renovations. Hogan, after securing $500,000 of donations, installed a

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricultu ...

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 ...

, natural

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball and ...

, outfield wall, dugouts, and indoor practice facility over the course of his 11-year tenure. In 1998, a new turf infield,

warning track The warning track is the part of the baseball field that is closest to the wall or fence and is made of a different material than the field. Common materials for the warning track include dirt or rubber; it should always be of a different material ...

, and outfield drainage system were installed at Conway Field. In 2001, the Kris Wheeler Complex was constructed. Named after a Trojans outfielder who played from 1998 to 2002, the facility included a

press box The press box is a special section of a sports stadium or arena that is set up for the media to report about a given event. It is typically located in the section of the stadium holding the luxury box and can be either enclosed or open to the e ...

concession stand A concession stand (American English, Canadian English), snack kiosk or snack bar (British English, Irish English) is a place where patrons can purchase snacks or food at a cinema, amusement park, zoo, aquarium, circus, fair, stadium, beach, swim ...

s, and a new gated entrance. In 2003, a new scoreboard was installed, located over the

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

fence. Prior to the 2004 season, the UALR athletic department announced an anonymous $1.6 million donation for improvements to the baseball field. At the same time, it was announced that the field would be renamed Gary Hogan Field, in honor of the former Trojan baseball coach. Numerous improvements followed in the subsequent years. A new

AstroTurf AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Since the early 2000s, AstroTurf has m ...

infield, lighting system, sound system, and indoor workout facility were constructed. Also, chairbacks were installed in 200 of the 550 seats located behind home plate. In 2011, the infield's

surface was replaced with polyurethane turf. A Trojan logo was added behind home plate, and the surface of the

was changed from clay to turf.

References

External links

2011 polyurethane turf installation photo gallery
at ualrtrojans.com {{Arkansas NCAA Division I college baseball venue navbox Little Rock Trojans baseball College baseball venues in the United States Baseball venues in Arkansas Buildings and structures in Little Rock, Arkansas Tourist attractions in Little Rock, Arkansas Arkansas Baptist College

History

Name

Renovations and features

See also

References

External links