Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium, formerly Varsity Park, is a baseball stadium on the campus of the California State University, Fresno in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

, United States. It was built in 1966. The field is the home of the

Fresno State Bulldogs The Fresno State Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent California State University, Fresno (commonly referred to as Fresno State). The university is a member of NCAA Division I's Mountain West Conference (MW). It was a ...

baseball team 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 te ...

and named after former Fresno State baseball coach

Pete Beiden Pete or Petes or ''variation'', may refer to: People * Pete (given name) * Pete (nickname) * Pete (surname) Fictional characters * Pete (Disney), a cartoon character in the ''Mickey Mouse'' universe * Pete the Pup (a.k.a. 'Petey'), a character ...

. The park was redesigned in 1983 and now holds 3,575 people. Prior to the 2002 opening of Grizzlies Stadium, the park also was the home of the Fresno Grizzlies

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

baseball team.

History

Originally known as Varsity Park, the field was dedicated in 1972 to Pete Beiden, Fresno State baseball coach from 1948–1969. Beiden, who led the program to 600 wins in his 21 seasons, was inducted in 1972 into the College Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Stadium lighting was installed in 1969 and updated in 1996. In 1983, the venue underwent a $2.2 million redesign. In 1998, a new scoreboard, PA system, and bleacher sections along both foul lines were added. In 1999, the natural grass infield was renovated. In 2004, the left field bleacher section (added in 1998) was removed to allow for indoor batting cages and a clubhouse to be built. Following the 2010 season, further renovations added a turf "halo" surrounding the infield and a new sound system. As of the end of the 2009 season, Fresno State has a 1,023–439–1 (.699) all-time record at Beiden Field. Fresno State hosted the 2013 Mountain West Conference baseball tournament at the stadium from May 22 through 26, at the conclusion of their first season in the Mountain West Conference.

Features

On the field itself, the facility features

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

s, of grass surface, cinder-clay mix infield dirt, and a rock dirt warning track. In 2000, the American Baseball Coaches Association/Turface Field Maintenance Award was given to the field's

groundskeeper Groundskeeping is the activity of tending an area of land for aesthetic or functional purposes, typically in an institutional setting. It includes mowing grass, trimming hedges, pulling weeds, planting flowers, etc. The U.S. Department of Labor e ...

s. On the center field wall, the numbers of two Fresno State coaches (#2 for Pete Beiden and #26 for Bob Bennett) are displayed. In addition, a seven-foot statue of Beiden stands outside the stadium. The field's stadium lighting includes eight towers with a total of 98 bulbs. Around the playing field, the facility includes a clubhouse, offices, batting cages,

restrooms A public toilet, restroom, public bathroom or washroom is a room or small building with toilets (or urinals) and sinks for use by the general public. The facilities are available to customers, travelers, employees of a business, school pupils ...

, concessions stands, and a press box suitable for 40 media members.

Attendance

Out of the venue's capacity of 5,757 spectators, 3,575 seats are chairback. The main, concrete seating structure lies behind home plate, while additional bleacher seating lies down the right field foul line. The section behind home plate features four lower rows of box seats and 16 upper rows of more chairback seating. The two sections are separated by a cross aisle. In 1988 and 1989, the program led Division I college baseball in single-game attendance. In 2013, the Bulldogs ranked 45th among Division I baseball programs in attendance, averaging 1,432 per home game.

Top 10 single games

The following is a list of the top 10 single-game attendance figures at Beiden Field.

References

External links