Baseball Receives $1 Million Boost
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
September 11, 1998
A $1 million gift from Ralph O. Taylor and his wife, Debbie, both of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Prairie Village, Kan., will go a long way towards completing the West Grounds of The Sports Park at MU. Director of Athletics Michael Alden announced today that the gift will begin the process to construct a new baseball stadium and team facilities.
"On behalf of the entire University of Missouri family, I want to thank the Taylors for their generosity. This is an exciting moment for the University of Missouri and particularly for our baseball program," Alden said. "Our development staff and Coach Tim Jamieson are to be commended. I know they have worked hard to secure support for improvements to the baseball facilities.
"Ralph and Debbie Taylor have continued the momentum that's been generated toward facility improvements at MU. Within the last several years every athletic venue south of Providence Road has received attention Walton Stadium, the Devine Pavilion, the Shelden Academic Resource Center and the McElroy Sports Medicine Center."
Simmons Field, the site of Tiger baseball since 1958, has long been acknowledged as having one of the best playing surfaces in the Midwest - especially after its turf renovation in 1994. Now, spectators will be provided with long-coveted amenities. Alden anticipates that construction will begin in the summer of 1999, with completion of a 2,000-seat stadium in time for the 2000 season.
Besides having a permanent grandstand, the new stadium will also feature a new press box, team rooms, fan amenities (concession stands, restrooms, ticket office, etc.).
"The Missouri baseball program has had a long-standing winning tradition," Jamieson said. "The Taylors have helped us match the commitment to excellence that all of the players in the past have made and the players of the future will be expected to make. "I'm happy for the program and all the players, past and present, and to those who have been great supporters of Missouri baseball over the years."
