Construction to begin on baseball field

The new quakers baseball stadium, slated for a March opening, will be located on the old Murphy Field site. Bower Field was known as a pitcher's haven, but Penn's new baseball stadium won't be quite as friendly to the men on the mound. Construction on the 900-seat stadium is scheduled to start in the second week of August, and the dimensions of Bower Field's successor will be considerably smaller. The distance from home to straight-away center in the new stadium will be just 390 feet -- 20 feet shorter than at Bower Field. Left-handed hitters, especially, should thrive at Penn's new stadium, as although the right field foul pole measures 330 feet, the distance to right-center is only 355 feet. "[The new stadium] is more hitting-friendly because of the right-centerfield gap," Penn coach Bob Seddon said. "But by no means do I think it's a bandbox." Due to the limiting size of the surrounding land, the Quakers' new stadium will have an unusual shape in left field. The distance to the left field foul pole is only 285 feet, but the fence quickly juts out to 330 feet within less than two degrees. The distance in the left field power alley, meanwhile, is 382 feet. Normally, the home team uses the first base dugout and right field bullpen, but Penn will reverse these trends in the new ballpark. "We had to take the third base dugout because the bullpen in the left field side is bigger," Seddon said. "The bullpen in right field is behind the power plant." The Quakers' new stadium, which will be located next to the Schuylkill Expressway, near the intersection of University Avenue and Civic Center Boulevard, is expected to open in March for the start of the baseball season. It will be built on the Murphy Field site -- the former playing field of Penn's various recreation teams -- adjacent to the University's new water chiller. The bottom floor of the water chilling plant will be used temporarily as a team room, and the hope is to eventually transform it into a full-scale baseball locker room when funding becomes available. Funding has been a concern for the Quakers, as some amenities -- such as a lighting system -- originally hoped for have already, or may have to be , scrapped. Seddon has planned a banquet for November to raise money for the stadium. Phillies centerfielder and Penn alumnus Doug Glanville has been asked to speak at the event, which Seddon hopes can furnish the press and spectator boxes. Not including the two boxes behind home plate, the new ballpark will have a seating capacity of 900. Stands will be built behind home plate and along the first and third base lines, utilizing a seat-back design, rather than the bench-style seating of Bower Field. The new stadium will also have an open grassy area behind the first base stands that can be used for picnicking. The new baseball stadium, which is yet to be named, is scheduled to be completed by the end of February. "There may be little bits here and there that aren't related to the playing area that might be continued a month or so beyond that," said Joe Raia, who is project manager of the stadium for Leers Weinzapfel. "But February is the goal." The stadium was funded through an anonymous gift by a donor in the spring of 1998.