Joe Miller Ballpark is a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

venue in

Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, fifth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the county seat, parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles (Louisiana), Lake Char ...

, United States. It is home to the

McNeese State Cowboys baseball The McNeese State Cowboys baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States. The team is a member of the Southland Conference, which is part of the National Collegiate ...

team of the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Division I

Southland Conference The Southland Conference (SLC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it participates in ...

. Opened in 1965, the venue has a capacity of 2,000 spectators. Its record attendance came one May 2, 2000, when 2,191 spectators saw McNeese State defeat

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

4–3 in 11 innings. The facility was renovated in 2005, 2007, and 2008. Not to be confused with Joe Miller Field, which is McNeese's softball venue.

Renovations

In 2005, a

Daktronics Daktronics, Inc. is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota, that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video displays, scoreboards, digital billboards, dynamic message signs, sound systems, and related products. It was found ...

scoreboard with a message board was installed. In 2007, a new outfield fence was built after the old fence was destroyed by

Hurricane Rita Hurricane Rita was the most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Gulf of Mexico, tying with Hurricane Milton in 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, 2024, as well as being the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. Part of the ...

. In 2008, new chairback seating (behind

home plate A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...

) and bleacher seating (along the first and third baselines) were installed. Additionally, the infield was laser-leveled and

wheelchair accessibility A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to Disease, illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health co ...

was improved with new ramps to the venue's seating areas. In 2014, the first part of a multi-phase upgrade began with installation of infield turf. According to the project announcement, "''...The new surface will make up the entire infield and foul territories and includes the batter's area and baselines. The only dirt on the field will be the pitcher's mound...''" Joseph T. Miller, Sr. presented the McNeese Foundation a check for $300,000 to help finance the infield turf project. Future planned upgrades announced include a new entrance court and ticket booths, elevated deck seating, VIP seating, and new fencing.

References

External links

Cowboy Diamond photo gallery
at mcneesesports.com {{Louisiana NCAA Division I college baseball venue navbox College baseball venues in Louisiana McNeese Cowboys and Cowgirls sports venues McNeese Cowboys baseball Sports venues completed in 1965 1965 establishments in Louisiana University and college buildings completed in 1965

Renovations

See also

References

External links