Les Murakami Stadium is the

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

stadium at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in

Honolulu CDP Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

,Honolulu CDP, HI
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U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

''. Retrieved on May 21, 2009. City and County of Honolulu,

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The stadium was built in 1984 and renamed after legendary Rainbow coach Les Murakami for the 2002 season.

History

In 1983, the University of Hawaii appropriated the money to build a state-of-the-art on-campus baseball facility. The project took less than nine months to complete. On February 17, 1984, Rainbow Stadium opened its gates for a game between Hawaii and

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses ** South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

. The facility originally cost $11.2 million in 1984. In 1985, the roof, which was only the middle section, was extended down the first- and third-base lines and

AstroTurf AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Since the early 2000s, AstroTurf has ...

was laid over the entire playing surface, boosting the final cost to $12.2 million. Some of the architectural features include two concession stands, two sunken dugouts with separate locker room facilities, the new Grand Slam Booster Club room, a locker room for the umpires, the Verizon Academic Center complete with computers, a laundry room, and a training room. The two-tier press box is air-conditioned and carpeted, and has a radio and a television booth on opposite ends. The stadium seats 4,312, with 3,738 of the seats covered to shelter the fans from the frequent spring rains of Manoa, called the "Manoa Mist" by fans. Along with renaming the stadium in 2002, the baseball program moved the outfield fences in 15 feet and lowered them from 12 to 10 feet, turning what had been a pitchers' ballpark into a more hitter-friendly stadium. Also, a new fiber-optic scoreboard/message board capable of showing TV replays was added in 2002. LESMURIKAMISTADIUM

Murakami, the first full-time head baseball coach in the program's history, developed the program for 31 years and led the Rainbows to the 1980 College World Series, their only CWS appearance. Hawaii lost 5–3 in the championship game to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. Rainbow baseball was its most prosperous between 1989-94 for two big reasons. First, in 279 home dates, UH posted a 69.9 winning percentage and went 195–84 at home. Secondly, attendance flourished, drawing 983,261 fans for an average of 3,524. Les Murakami Stadium was sold out for 179 of those 279 dates. The facility has attracted more than 2.5 million fans since opening in 1984. In the most attended season of 1992, UH fans set two milestones. First, on March 7, 1992, the one-millionth fan walked through the turnstiles. Secondly, Hawaii set a school and

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

attendance record of 208,378, which has since been broken. In 2013, the Rainbow Warriors ranked 13th in among Division I baseball programs in attendance, averaging 3,357 per home game. In 2004, the big crowds returned to Les Murakami Stadium as the Rainbows averaged almost 2,500 in attendance per game, including their first sellout in five years on a Saturday night game vs. then-No. 3

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

on May 8, 2004. The ’Bows did not disappoint the packed house, taking a thrilling 6–5 victory. After 11 years of use, the existing

was changed to DomoTurf in time for the 2008 baseball season. DomoTurf is an artificial field system utilizing synthetic grass and rubber infill granules, which is said to better simulate real soil feel and reduce injuries.

References

External links

Les Murakami StadiumHawaii Winter Baseball
{{HWB Ballparks Baseball venues in Hawaii College baseball venues in the United States Hawaii Rainbow Warriors baseball Buildings and structures in Honolulu University of Hawaiʻi Sports venues completed in 1984 1984 establishments in Hawaii

History

See also

References

External links