GU details its concrete plans for new ballpark

Not every pile of crushed concrete excites Steve Hertz.

But the one that has grown to such massive proportions in recent days near the corner of Trent Avenue and Cincinnati Street holds special meaning for Gonzaga University’s director of athletic relations.

To Hertz, that dusty pile of pulverized remains from the foundation of the postal annex building that formerly occupied the site represents a brilliant future for a Gonzaga baseball program he has spent nearly half of his life nurturing – as a player, longtime coach and fund-raiser.

“It’s really exciting,” Hertz said Friday afternoon while looking out on the pile of ground-up concrete from his office window. “If it’s possible, it’s even more exciting than hanging out a sign at third base, or making a pitching change.”

What has Hertz so jazzed is the notion that once all of the concrete is crushed, it will be spread out to a depth of 18 inches to provide the foundation for a new 1,200-seat baseball stadium that could open as early as spring 2007.

According to GU athletic director Mike Roth, the university has quietly raised funds for the new stadium for some time and hopes to start construction of the facility next spring.

“With winter setting in, it’s virtually impossible that we’re going to be playing on a home field here on campus next spring,” Roth said, “But beyond that, putting up a baseball field doesn’t take as long as building a new arena. So, are we just another year out from playing on it? We very well could be.”

The Bulldogs haven’t had an on-campus baseball facility since spring 2003, when August/A.R.T. Stadium was razed to make room for the McCarthey Athletic Center that opened last fall and houses the university’s 6,000-seat basketball arena.

That was the same year Hertz stepped aside after 24 seasons of coaching the Zags and handed the reins to his top assistant, Mark Machtolf. Since then, in his new position, he has walked point on fund-raising efforts for the new baseball complex.

Hertz has also had a major say in planning the stadium, which will feature coaches’ offices, a team lounge and locker room – complete with 36 lockers, a training room and a storage area that are all immediately accessible from the home team’s dugout.

A roof will cover the press box and two adjoining luxury suites, along with nearly half of the 1,200 seats. The plans also call for additional blanket-style seating on the grassy berms down each foul line, which Roth said could eventually be used to add perhaps as many as 800 seats.

“It will meet all of the NCAA’s requirements to host a regional tournament,” Hertz said. “And that’s how you get to (the College World Series in) Omaha.”

Roth said the university also plans to let the American Legion program use the stadium during the summer.

According to Roth, the university still hasn’t gone public with its fund-raising efforts for the stadium and has yet to attach a firm dollar amount to its construction costs.

“We have architectural drawings of what the finished project might look like,” he explained, “but we haven’t gotten to the point of costing it out and drawing blueprints.”

Hertz called his fund-raising efforts “a labor or love,” adding he never questioned the university’s promise to eventually build a new baseball stadium.

“I know the heart of this place,” he explained, “and the heart of this place is to do the right thing. I have never gotten the idea, from anyone, that they wouldn’t do what is right for Gonzaga baseball.”

“Now, suddenly, there’s a new excitement on campus, and it’s about baseball. I know I’m going to be an absolute blubbering idiot on opening day.”