New “OrthoGeorgia Park” will be home to Mercer baseball
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Mercer University announced on Tuesday OrthoGeorgia, middle Georgia’s largest provider of orthopedic services, has made a “significant commitment” toward the university’s new baseball complex.
The new baseball park located on Coleman Avenue in Macon will be named “OrthoGeorgia Park.”
According to a news release, Mercer President Bill Underwood said,” The University is deeply grateful to the OrthoGeorgia partners for their commitment to this priority project for our athletic department.”
Construction of the new park will include new stands, press box, dugouts, concessions area and restrooms.
“I can’t wait to sit right behind home plate in that premium seating and really get a good shot of the game,” Athletic Director Jim Cole said.
Tarps are still over the dugout, dirt is still piling up over home plate — even then, the wheels are turning at Claude Smith Field at Mercer University.
Cole thinks new improvements to the school’s baseball facilities are long overdue for the perennial baseball power.
“Every stadium you build, there’s bells and whistles just like a car. We want to get all the whistles we can and all the bells,” Cole said.
The athletic department received a “significant commitment” from long time partner OrthoGeorgia, Middle Georgia’s largest provider of orthopedic services, to get the project going.
“Baseball while on the field they’ve been unbelievable, I mean top 25 the last couple of years, they didn’t have a facility to match,” Bryan Gerrity, the executive director of Mercer’s Athletic Foundation, said.
Once construction begins, officials say one of the first improvements will be the dugouts. They say the dugouts as well as the stands and the press box all need improvements. After that, they say keep up with other athletic departments in the country.
“Will our facility be as good as Mississippi State…no. For our peers schools, I think we’ll be right there with them,” Cole said.
“It’s going to overhaul the entire existing stadium other than the field,” Gerrity said.
Renderings show the proposed “Claude Smith Field at OrthoGeorgia Park” with a cost of around $3 – $4 million dollars to complete.
Cole says he’s anxious for the project to begin…
“I want us to be having to move in about 3,000 portable bleachers in the outfield, so that we can host a regional here,” Cole said.
…and adds he has lofty ambitions.
“It may be far-fetched to a few people, but we want to play in a College World Series,” he said.
A new entrance will also be built, the baseball team will officially play at Claude Smith Field at OrthoGeorgia Park.
Cole adds several dominoes have to fall into place before the university can begin construction on the new complex, but he has all intentions of getting the project going by the end of the next baseball season.
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