Batter up! USCB plans a baseball grandstand and more athletic facilities for Bluffton campus
The smack of a bat connecting with the ball, concession hot dogs, organ music rallying players for a ninth-inning comeback. It’s quintessential America, and the University of South Carolina Beaufort’s baseball team nearly has it all.
What’s missing? Scores of university students cheering on their team, which is a tricky feat when the field is in Hardeeville, miles away from the Bluffton campus. The Hilton Head area university has plans to change that with new on-campus fields.
The school doesn’t have funding or a timeline, but they outlined an $18.3 million plan to build a baseball field and other facilities on its Bluffton campus. With a $70 million convocation center in the works, the school’s plans to improve its athletic facilities are a step towards more boisterous campus life for students and add much needed athletic facilities in the Lowcountry for the school and other organizations.
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“We don’t have anything hard and fast,” USCB Vice Chancellor Beth Patrick said of projected cost and timelines. However, Huntress Sports, an athletic design company, created a plan with estimated costs in August 2023.
The plans include:
- One new baseball field
- One new softball field
- One new and/or renovated soccer field with a 400-meter track and field
- Two 750-seat bleachers
“Our next step will be to begin to look for a plan of how we’re going to fund this,” Patrick said. “It’ll probably be from a multitude of sources.” Beaufort County and the state are paying for the school’s planned $70 million convocation center.
Take an inside look at the plans:
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This story was originally published May 8, 2024 at 12:28 PM.
