Jerry Kindall Field at Frank Sancet Stadium

Jerry Kindall Field at Frank Sancet Stadium was a college baseball stadium in Tucson, Arizona, on the campus of the University of Arizona. Until 2011, it was the home field of the Arizona Wildcats of the Pac-10 Conference.

Jerry Kindall Field at Frank Sancet Stadium
"Sancet Stadium"
LocationUniversity of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
 United States
Coordinates32°13′44″N 110°56′47″W
OwnerUniversity of Arizona
OperatorUniversity of Arizona
Capacity6,500
Field sizeLeft field - 360 ft (110 m)
Center field - 400 ft (122 m)
Right field - 360 ft (110 m)
Surfacenatural grass - (1967 - )
Construction
Opened1967
Closed2015
Demolished2016, 2018
Tenants
Arizona Wildcats - (NCAA) (1967-2011) Arizona Wildcats -(NCAA) (2012-2015)

Opened in 1967 and originally called "Wildcat Field," the stadium was named after Frank Sancet (head coach from 1950 to 1972) in 1986, and was renamed in 2004 to include former head coach Jerry Kindall. Beginning in the 2012 season, the Wildcat baseball team plays at Hi Corbett Field, a former spring training facility located about three miles southeast of campus;[1] the Wildcat football program has been using Jerry Kindall Field as a football practice facility since the 2012 preseason, and the 2013 football spring game was held there, due to renovations at Arizona Stadium.

The stadium was fully demolished in 2018 to clear space for a new indoor sports center.[2][3] A monument to Jerry Kindall and Frank Sancet was erected on the site of the stadium.[4]

Stadium facts
  • Surface: The outfield was Bermuda, while the infield was a Tifgreen (said to be durable in hot weather, a factor during the baseball season in Tucson). The infield consisted of Stabilizer Red dirt, and Stabilizer Clay was used around home plate and on the mound. A new irrigation system was installed in 2007 for the infield grass and dirt. The grounds crews overseeded the field in November with a Perennial Rye, Arnold Palmer II, to prepare it for the season. The area in front of the dugouts was AstroTurf.
  • Field dimensions: 360 feet (110 m) down each foul line, 378 feet (115 m) to the power alleys and 400 feet (122 m) to center field.
  • Through 2008, Arizona posted a 32-year mark of 820-343-3 (.705) in more than 1,100 games at Sancet Stadium. UA had just three losing records at Sancet Stadium and nearly reached perfection in 1974 with a 37–1 home campaign. The stadium was the site of four NCAA Regionals (1979, '80, '89 and '92).
  • Ballpark traditions included the "Sixth Street Slam", when an Arizona player hit it over the right field fence and onto traffic on Tucson's 6th Street.
  • The visitors' section of the stands was often occupied by members of the Hot Corner, the baseball contingent of the Zona Zoo, Arizona's athletics student section. This tradition has continued at Hi Corbett Field.

Changes to Sancet Stadium

The field was first modernized in 1975. In 1988, a $160,000 scoreboard, complete with a computerized message center, was purchased through advertising contracts with Gatorade and The Arizona Daily Star. Larger dugouts were added in 1990, and the stadium got its own "Green Monster" in 1995 with the installation of a wall designed to block traffic lights from adjacent Sixth Street during night games. A new, expanded press box was completed in 1997. Changes made in time for the 2006 season included an 11 x 20 ft videoboard, new batting cages and a lawn seating area (similar to those featured in some minor league, and major league spring training, ballparks); the protective wall in right field was turned into the "College World Series" wall, commemorating the Wildcat baseball program's fifteen appearances (to that date) in the CWS in Omaha, including three national championship titles in 1976, 1980, and 1986, all coached by Jerry Kindall. The Wildcats also won in 2012, their first year not at Sancet Stadium.

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-08-29. Retrieved 2011-09-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "On-Campus Recognition Planned for Site of Sancet Stadium". University of Arizona Athletics. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
  3. "Hansen's Sunday Notebook: Game day at Arizona Stadium should be much improved for fans". Arizona Daily Star.
  4. Kelapire, Ryan (April 21, 2018). "Jerry Kindall, Frank Sancet to get monument at site of Indoor Sports Center". Arizona Desert Swarm.

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