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Tony Gwynn Stadium became the
new home of the San Diego State
baseball program during the 1997
season. The facility is already
being hailed as one of the top
college baseball stadiums in the
country. Baseball America has
ranked Tony Gwynn Stadium as the
fifth-best collegiate facility
in the nation and the
second-best park in the western
half of the nation.
Groundbreaking for this
project took place on August 21,
1996. The $4 million facility
has been made possible through
the generosity of San Diego
Padres owner John Moores and his
wife, Becky, who donated the
funds to make Coach Jim Dietz's
dream of a state-of-the-art
stadium at SDSU a reality.
The structure is named in
honor of the former Aztec and
current head coach. The playing
field remains Charlie Smith
Field in honor of the long-time
former San Diego State head
coach. It retains its former
dimensions of 340 feet down the
left field line, 340 feet down
the right field line, and 412 to
dead center field. Distance to
the power alleys is 365 feet.
Additional area has been
added between home plate and the
backstop (now 45 feet), and the
warning track in the outfield
has been widened to 20 feet. The
field itself is a natural turf (Tif
Santa Ana grass), while the
infield and warning track
utilize crushed brick dust.
The most recent field
improvement consists of
artificial field turf that
extends from the end of each
dugout in foul territory outside
the base lines. The turf was
installed prior to the start of
the 2010 season. In addition, a
large Aztec logo now occupies
the area directly behind home
plate.
The playing field is enclosed
by a 10-foot high green wall
made of a modern material
designed to be resilient upon
contact. The outfield wall
features advertising signage as
well as a panel chroicling
SDSU's appearances in the NCAA
Regionals. Beyond the right
field fence in the Wall of Fame
honoring past standout memebrs
of the Aztec program.
Stadium lighting consists of
six poles using 2000-watt
fixtures, making the facility
one of the most well-lit fields
in college and professional
baseball.
The stadium's electronic
scoreboard, installed prior to
the start of the 2003 season, is
located behind the right
centerfield fence and features a
complete line score as well as
video playback capability.
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 were
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 comprised of
bleacher benches that extend
down both base lines.
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 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.
A barbecue/picnic area is
available between the end of the
permanent stands and the batting
cage structures down right field
line. This area is available for
special events and group
outings.
Ticket booths are located behind
the stadium along the first base
side to serve fans' needs at all
games.
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Top 10 Crowds at Tony Gwynn
Stadium |
| Attend |
Score |
Date |
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3,337 |
San Diego State 5, Air Force 0 |
May 8, 2009 |
|
3,072 |
San Diego State 4, TCU 3 |
April 24, 2009 |
|
2,857 |
Texas 9, San Diego State 3 |
Feb. 4, 2005 |
|
2,353 |
Texas 13, San Diego State 5 |
Feb. 5, 2005 |
|
2,102 |
San Diego State 4, UNLV 3 |
March 13, 2009 |
|
2,032 |
Brigham Young 4, San Diego State 2 |
March 20, 2009 |
|
1,788 |
Utah 2, San Diego State 1 |
April 27, 2002 |
|
1,549 |
San Diego State 6, Utah 5 |
April 28, 2002 |
|
1,509 |
San Diego 8, San Diego State 4 |
April 15, 2003 |
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1,507 |
San Diego State 5, UC Riverside 4 |
Feb. 5, 2002 |
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