Tony Gwynn Stadium is the home field of the
San Diego State University
San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...
Aztecs
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
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. In addition, the
San Diego Surf Dawgs
The San Diego Surf Dawgs are an independent professional baseball team representing San Diego, California, that played for two seasons in the Golden Baseball League, based out of San Ramon, California, and then later in the short-season instructi ...
of the independent
Golden Baseball League
The Golden Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in San Ramon, California, with teams located in the western United States, western Canada and northwest Mexico.
The GBL was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or the orga ...
used the park as their home field.
Stadium history
The original stadium was named Smith Field in honor of Charlie Smith, the longtime San Diego State head baseball coach. The stadium was demolished and rebuilt in 1997 at a cost of $4 million, funded largely thanks to a donation by John Moores, then owner of the
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 ...
. The renovated stadium was named in honor of
Tony Gwynn
Anthony Keith Gwynn Sr. (May 9, 1960 – June 16, 2014), nicknamed "Mr. Padre", was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played 20 seasons (1982–2001) in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres. The left-handed hit ...
, a
Hall of Fame
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
superstar for the Padres. The playing field is still known as Charlie Smith Field.
San Diego State official athletic site
/ref> As an undergraduate Gwynn played both baseball and basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
for the SDSU Aztecs
The San Diego State Aztecs are the athletic teams that represent San Diego State University (SDSU). San Diego State currently sponsors six men's and eleven women's sports at the varsity level.
The Aztecs compete in NCAA Division I ( FBS for foo ...
. He became SDSU's head baseball coach after he retired from the Padres.
Facilities
The SDSU "Wall of Fame" is located just beyond the right field wall of the stadium.
Among the amenities contained within the stadium itself are the following:
Two concession stands and two sets of restrooms located behind the seating area on the plaza level. There is also a novelty/souvenir shop located on the outer concourse, featuring SDSU merchandise.
A coaches' dressing room and adjacent players' meeting room located at the east end of the first base stands to be used for team functions as well as a lounge for SDSU athletes
The Stephen and Mary Birch Baseball Museum located at the north end of the third base stand. The museum features numerous items relating to the history of baseball at San Diego State.
Home and visiting team locker rooms with shower facilities. There is also an umpires' dressing room for officials to use before and after games.
A training room with a Jacuzzi and dry sauna.
An equipment room with storage space for uniforms, baseballs, bats and other items.
A modern press box with booths for radio and television. A state-of-the-art public address system is operated from the press box as well as the stadium scoreboard. A hydraulic elevator is available to take media and VIPs from ground level to the press box.
Four sky boxes adjacent to the press box for visiting dignitaries and groups to view games.
There is an alumni lounge near the elevator on the ground floor that serves as reception area and hosts various functions. The room has been provided through the generosity of former Aztec pitcher Bud Black
Harry Ralston "Bud" Black (born June 30, 1957) is an American professional baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Colorado Rockies. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a pitcher from 1981 through 1995, most notably ...
and his wife, Nan, who oversaw much of the work on the project herself.
Covered sunken team dugouts with tunnels adjacent to each that lead to the team locker rooms.
Two large batting/pitching cages located down the left and right field lines. Each cage has space for two indoor batting practice areas or may be used as a bull pen with two mounds during games. An auxiliary batting cage/storage building has been constructed down the right field. All of these cages are fully lit for night use. In addition, a new outdoor bullpen was installed down the left field line just prior to the 2004 season.
The Arch Krejci Barbecue/Picnic Area is available between the end of the permanent stands and the batting cage buildings down right field line. Named for an individual who has spent countless volunteer hours assisting the SDSU baseball program, this area is available for special events and group outings.
Ticket booths are located behind the stadium along the first base side as well as down the third base side to serve fans' needs at all games.
Seating capacity of the stadium is 3,000, and that number could reach as high as 4,000 in the future. Of the 2,200 permanent seats installed during the initial phase of construction, 800 are armchair-style around the stadium at the field level. With the addition of new seating in May 2005, that number has increased to over 1,800, as more than 1,000 chair back seats were installed in the plaza level from first to third base. The remaining seats are composed of bleacher benches down both base lines. Additionally, bleachers seating are available behind the right field fence.
See also
* List of NCAA Division I baseball venues
This is a list of stadiums that currently serve as the home venue for National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I college baseball teams. Conference affiliations reflect those in the coming 2023 NCAA baseball season. ...
References
External links
''Tony Gwynn Stadium'' home page
{{California NCAA Division I college baseball venue navbox
Baseball venues in California
College baseball venues in the United States
Minor league baseball venues
San Diego State Aztecs baseball
Sports venues in San Diego
Sports venues completed in 1997
1997 establishments in California