Softball: It’s Outta Here! Ground-Breaking Ceremony Ushers in New Stadium – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Demolition already complete as crowd gathers to celebrate the past and the future
COLUMBUS, Ohio The outfield was crowded with current and former Ohio State softball players, administrators, donors and media Thursday afternoon for the official ground-breaking ceremony of the Buckeyes’ new softball stadium.
Click on the links above for the complete audio, video and photo gallery from the ceremony. See below for quotes from the ceremony.
The $5.9 million renovation to Buckeye Field began Monday, in fact, and already the previously existing bleachers (capacity 800), press box, dugouts and backstop wall and fence have been removed. The construction is scheduled to wrap up next March when the Buckeyes play their 2009 home opener.
Ohio State athletics director Gene Smith, head softball coach Linda Kalafatis and sophomore third-team All-American Sam Marder all spoke to the assembly and grabbed a shovel for a ceremonial digging in the warning-track dirt.
“To have an opportunity to be blessed to have young people like these student-athletes over here come to The Ohio State University and display their talents and skills that God so blessed them with and helped them develop is very special,” Smith said. “So we want to have the best facilities for them. For all of you donors to step up and provide for them we really appreciate that.”
Phyllis Bailey, Ohio State’s first women’s basketball coach and administrator, was on hand for the ceremony and sees the new stadium as another step in the advancement of women’s athletics at Ohio State.
“This is a very important link to get finished,” Bailey said. “This facility, although it was nice when I left here and I thought it was really a great facility, is very much behind many of the institutions at this point. If you watched any of the games leading up to the college world series and saw some of the facilities some other campus have, it’s time Ohio State stepped up and did that, too. It’s well-past time for it to happen and it’s what we ought to have at Ohio State.”
Linda Kalafatis, Ohio State Head Softball Coach
“Although it won’t show up in any record book, this really is a historic moment for Ohio State softball. The construction at Buckeye Field is more than just a building for us. It’s pride in knowing that, like so many facilities on this campus both athletic and academic, we do things the right way. To work out and play in a top facility really brings out the best in the team.
It’s tradition. It tells our alumni that the time you served here helped us get to this point. You are the standard for our players today.
It means opportunity. Opportunity to attract dedicated fans, to bring in great competition, to attract the very best softball student-athletes from this great state of Ohio and all across the country.
It means teamwork. The teamwork of our administration and our loyal donors that made this happen. The teamwork of our great grounds crew and facilities staff that will keep it looking new for years to come. That kind of teamwork is a great example for our team.
It’s commitment. This facility tells our players and our future players and fans across the Buckeye state that Ohio State is committed to providing our players with the opportunity to be their very best.
As a northern school, we spend a lot of time of the road. Our players have been to a lot of different facilities. They have left envious a lot of times, but no more. They won’t ever walk away from a facility and wish they played in something just as nice.
As a coaching staff, it’s so important to us that our softball student-athletes have the same opportunity to be successful as others, and now we will.
I can’t thank Gene Smith enough for recognizing the need and for getting on it right away. For Sue Frost and her development team that work tirelessly to spread the good word about the student-athletes of all of our sports.
So thank you all again for taking time out of your day to be here and celebrate this wonderful occasion. I’ve already calculated it’s 288 days until the first pitch, so I’m going to stop talking so they can get back to work.”
Sam Marder, sophomore catcher
“On behalf of my teammates, I would like to thank all the donors and our administration whose generous support made this day possible.
When I think of Ohio State, I think of an amazing tradition, a remarkable sense of school pride and an excellent education and an emphasis on becoming the best athlete and person I can become. The only thing left to make our experience complete was a facility that reflected the pride we feel for this school and the level of dedication we bring to the game. Thanks to everyone here today, the dream of one day stepping onto a field that is nationally regarded as one of the best has become a reality.
It’s so exciting to think of all the future Buckeyes this stadium will help bring and how they will get to experience what I experience every time I will step onto our new field. My teammates and I thank you for this amazing new facility that will soon be built and we will always make sure to make you as proud of us as we are here today.”
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