Vincent–Beck Stadium (formerly Cardinal Field) is a
ballpark
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 ...
located in
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat, seat of government of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur, Texas, Port Arthur Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, metropo ...
, on Jim Gilligan Way on the campus of
Lamar University. The stadium was built in 1969 and has a current capacity of 3,500 spectators. It is the home stadium of the
Lamar Cardinals baseball
The Lamar Cardinals baseball team represents Lamar University and competes in the Southland Conference of the NCAA's Division I after officially rejoining the conference on July 11, 2022. The team is coached by head coach, Will Davis following ...
team. It was also home to the
Beaumont Golden Gators
The Beaumont Golden Gators were a minor league baseball team in the double A Texas League from 1983 to 1986. Owned by insurance man Ted Moor, the team was an affiliate of the San Diego Padres for their entire tenure. Future Major League Baseball ...
, a
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 ...
Double-A Texas League
The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...
affiliate of the
San Diego Padres (1983–1986) as well as the
Beaumont Bullfrogs
Beaumont may refer to:
Places Canada
* Beaumont, Alberta
* Beaumont, Quebec
England
* Beaumont, Cumbria
* Beaumont, Essex
**Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s
* Beaumont Street, Oxford
France (communes)
* Beaumont, Ardèche
* Be ...
of the
Central Baseball League
The Central Baseball League, formerly the Texas–Louisiana League, was a independent baseball league whose member teams were not affiliated with any Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises.
In 1991, potential owners, Dallas businessman Byron P ...
(1994). The facility is named after former
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
coach
Al Vincent and Bryan Beck, a former member of the Lamar University board of regents.
The ballpark hosted the
Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament in 1993 and the
Southland Conference baseball tournament
The Southland Conference baseball tournament is the conference championship tournament in baseball for the Southland Conference. The winner of the tournament receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I baseball tournament.
Tou ...
in 2001, 2002, and 2006.
As the 2015 season began, the Cardinals had a 900-436–4 win–loss record at Vincent–Beck Stadium for a 67.3% winning record.
The stadium has been expanded several times and has had numerous renovations over its existence. Ground breaking for installation of new turf at the stadium was held on October 22, 2018. The project was completed in January, 2019.
Infield turf is Hellas Construction Fusion Triple play. Outfield turf is Hellas Construction Fusion XP
2. Estimated cost for the project is $1.5 million. Other improvements in 2019 were concentrated on the dugouts. Protective netting was installed, and dugout drainage was improved.
Features
The stadium includes the following:
*Lighting for night games
*Twenty foot tall
batter's eye
The batter's eye or batter's eye screen is a solid-colored, usually dark area beyond the center field wall of a baseball stadium, that is the visual backdrop directly in the line of sight of a baseball batter, while facing the pitcher and await ...
in center field
*Three foot brick wall extending from dugout to dugout behind home plate
*Dugouts
*Pressbox with two radio broadcast booths and additional media working space
*700 chairback seats and total permanent capacity of 3,500
*Locker Rooms including 35 custom built oak lockers
*Players Lounge
*All weather batting cages
*Hellas Fusion turf - Infield (Fusion XP) and Outfield (Fusion XP
2)
*9,600 sq ft Indoor Practice Facility
Recovery from Hurricane Rita
Vincent–Beck Stadium was severely damaged by
Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita was the most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Gulf of Mexico and the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. Part of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, which included three of the top ten L ...
in 2005. The following repairs and enhancements were made to the stadium before and during the 2006 baseball season.
* Replace press box – press box had been blown off its supports and was damaged
* Replace outfield fences – Fences were blown down
* Replace field lights
* Replace score board – new scoreboard was an enhancement and included a small video board
* Replace seats
On January 9, 2007, the
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...
awarded Lamar University $1.1 million to help with the uninsured portion of the loss.
Attendance
Source:
Top ten attendance
*Note: Attendance is limited to 1991 season forward. Attendance is not available for earlier seasons.
Yearly attendance
Below is a list of the attendance by year from the 1991 season forward.
Source:
* Note: Games scheduled after March 11, 2020 cancelled due to COVID19 precautions.
As of the 2022 season.
Photo gallery
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
Facility information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vincent-Beck Stadium
Baseball in Beaumont, Texas
Baseball venues in Texas
Sports venues in Beaumont, Texas
Minor league baseball venues
College baseball venues in the United States
Lamar Cardinals baseball
Lamar Cardinals and Lady Cardinals sports venues
1969 establishments in Texas
Sports venues completed in 1969