North Carolina State University Athletics
Special Ceremonies Set For Final Game At Doak Field
5/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 10, 2002
RALEIGH, N.C. - NC State baseball will celebrate its past and its future on May 18 when the Wolfpack hosts Virginia in a doubleheader, the second game of which will be the final home game of the 2002 season. The twin-bill with the Cavaliers marks the final home games at the old Doak Field, which will be razed following the season and replaced by a brand new ballpark at the same site. The new park is scheduled to be ready for the beginning of the 2003 campaign.
The 2002 senior class will be honored prior to the first game of the doubleheader, which will begin at 3 p.m. Between games of the doubleheader, a ceremony will be held honoring NC State's 1968 and 1992 teams. The 1968 team is the only Wolfpack team ever to make it to Omaha and the College World Series, finishing third. The 1992 team is NC State's last ACC championship team. That squad will be celebrating its 10th anniversary.
Following the game, an unofficial groundbreaking ceremony will be held, with former players and members of the Batter-Up Campaign featured. Home plate will be dug up and stored for use at the new Doak Field.
The Virginia series will serve as a weekend-long celebration of NC State baseball, with all former players encouraged to attend and participate. A golf tournament for former players will be held on Friday, May 1 at Wildwood Green, and a social for ex-players will be held at Amedeo's on Western Boulevard immediately following Friday night's game.
On Saturday, May 18, a reunion cookout will be hosted at Doak Field by the Wolfpack Club, beginning at 1 p.m.
Former players interested in attending should contact Media Scronce at the Wolfpack Club.
The new ballpark should put NC State on more even footing with its recruiting and on-field rivals in the Atlantic Coast Conference and throughout college baseball. Plans call for the existing grandstand, dugouts and press box to be demolished and the playing field leveled. Once the field has been leveled, a new grandstand with chairback seating and a 1200-square-foot press box will be constructed. The playing field will have larger and modern dugouts, and the Wolfpack players will have access via the field to a new clubhouse facility that will be built along the right-field line.
The dugouts will be below field level and will have access to restroom facilities for on-field personnel only. The press box will feature a TV booth, two radio booths, and two print-media areas, with total seating capacity for up to 40 media members. The clubhouse will feature a 1300-square-foot locker room, a players' lounge, umpires' locker room and coaches' offices. A modern, state-of-the-art indoor/outdoor batting cage will be available at the end of the lower level of the clubhouse.
Artists' renderings of the new Doak Field can be seen on the Wolfpack Club website (www.wolfpackclub.com).
