Lambert Field was a

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 ...

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

West Lafayette, Indiana West Lafayette () is a city in Wabash Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, about northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash River from its sister ci ...

. It was the home field of the from 1965 until 2012 and held 1,100 people. It was named after former Purdue baseball coach Ward Lambert.Lambert Field (Baseball)
at purduesports.com, URL accessed October 24, 2009

October 24, 2009

History

Opened in 1965, Lambert Field succeeded the Old Lambert Field (also known as Ross-Ade Field) as the home of Purdue baseball. The construction of

Mackey Arena Mackey Arena is located in West Lafayette, Indiana. Part of the Purdue University campus, it is home to the university's basketball teams, and occasionally hosts home games for the volleyball and wrestling teams. The arena opened in 1967 as a repl ...

on the location of Old Lambert Field necessitated the move. In the 1990s, the university undertook three renovation projects on Lambert Field. In 1990, a new

press box The press box is a special section of a sports stadium or arena that is set up for the media to report about a given event. It is typically located in the section of the stadium holding the luxury box and can be either enclosed or open to the e ...

was added, and the seating areas were improved. In 1994, an electronic scoreboard was installed. In 1999, the university adopted a yearly renovation plan for Lambert. The annual improvements have added new fences in the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball a ...

and foul territory, a new backstop, new

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

s, a screen to protect the parking lot beyond the

left field In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering syst ...

fence, and an irrigation system. In 2002, the facility hosted the Indiana North-South All-Star Game. In 2012, Purdue won its first Big 10 Regular Season championship since 1909 in the field's final season.

Naming

The field was named for former Purdue basketball and

coach Ward Lambert. During three stints coaching the baseball program (1917, 1919–35, and 1945-6), Lambert compiled a 163–156–7 record. For his success in coaching Purdue's basketball program, Lambert was inducted into the

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

in 1960.

New stadium

Purdue built a new baseball venue, Alexander Field, which it began using in 2013. Although the field was planned to open for the 2012 season, construction delays led Purdue to use Lambert Field through the end of the 2012 season. At the end of the season, Lambert was razed to allow space for additional parking for the Student Fitness and Wellness Center.

References

{{Purdue Boilermakers baseball navbox Defunct college baseball venues in the United States Baseball venues in Indiana Purdue Boilermakers baseball 1965 establishments in Indiana Sports venues completed in 1965 2012 disestablishments in Indiana