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 t ...
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 ...
. It is home to the Campbell Fighting Camels baseball team. Previously known as Taylor Field, the venue dates back to the 1940s and Campbell's
junior college
A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in ...
baseball days. Taylor Field was named for Herbert B. Taylor, a supporter of Campbell University's athletics programs. Following the 2012 season, the field was renamed for
Jim Perry James Perry may refer to:
* James Perry (journalist) (1756–1821), journalist
* James Franklin Perry (1790–1853), early Texas settler (with wife Emily Austin Perry)
* Jimmy Perry (1923–2016), English actor and scriptwriter
* James E. C. Perr ...
, who played baseball and basketball for Campbell from 1956 to 1959. Perry later pitched for 17 seasons in
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 (A ...
, earning the 1970 American League Cy Young Award with the Minnesota Twins.
The field dimensions are 337 feet down the left field line, 368 feet in left-center, 395 feet to straight-away center, 375 feet to the right-center, and 328 feet down the right field line. Renovations began in 2011,and included a new entrance and ticket booth, restrooms and concession stand, as well as improved exterior landscaping. The stadium was dedicated prior to a 6–3 victory over in-state rival
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...
on March 26, 2013.
A later addition was a new grandstand that stretches from dugout to dugout and featured 310 chairback seats, with an overall
seating capacity
Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile tha ...
then of 630. New dugouts were constructed, with the home dugout built in-ground. A pavilion was also added, dedicated to Jim and Daphne Perry. Prior to the 2017 seasons, ProGrass Turf installed a complete turf playing surface, and new chair seat backs were added, bringing the stadiums' capacity to over 1,000 seats. This newest addition also provided a state-of-the-art locker room, and new offices for the entire Campbell baseball operation. An HD video board has been added, the largest in the Big South Conference, measuring 35' 7 1/2" tall and 42' 6 1/2" wide.
Taylor Field hosted the 1985, 1987, and 1988
Big South Conference baseball tournament
The Big South Conference baseball tournament, sometimes referred to simply as the Big South tournament, is the conference baseball championship of the NCAA Division I Big South Conference
The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic co ...
s. Winthrop won in 1985 and 1987, while Campbell won on its home field in 1988.
In 2017 and 2018, Jim Perry Stadium was home to the
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...
' new
Carolina League
The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 un ...
affiliate, the Buies Creek Astros, an A-Advanced league team, who played there during construction of a new ballpark in Fayetteville. The Astros won the 2018 Carolina League championship at Jim Perry Stadium.
See also
*
List of NCAA Division I baseball venues
This is a list of stadiums that currently serve as the home venue for NCAA Division I college baseball teams. Conference affiliations reflect those in the coming 2023 NCAA baseball season. In addition, venues which are not located on campus or ar ...