January 10, 2001

NIGHT BASEBALL COMING TO FURMAN;
LIGHTS TO BE INSTALLED BY MARCH 30

GREENVILLE ‹ Furman University's baseball stadium, which in 1956 became the first athletic facility to open on the university's new campus, will soon be the home of night baseball, according to director of athletics Gary Clark, who on Thursday announced plans for the addition of lights to the stadium.

"This is a tremendous move to improve an already beautiful facility and at the same time provide our players with an opportunity to play in great atmosphere in front of more people," said Clark in making the announcement.

"We're deeply grateful to the people who have made the lights possible," said head baseball coach Ron Smith. "This gives our program a real boost in so many ways, especially in scheduling flexibility. Our players will miss less class time and it will give our fans better opportunities to see us play in a great baseball setting."

Installation of the lights is scheduled to be completed by March 30 and will be handled by Musco Lighting Company from Oskaloosa, Iowa. It will include eight light structures, two along each foul line and four in the outfield. There will be 158 total lamps producing 1,500 watts of power each. The field's lighting will meet the standards for AA and AAA baseball and will cost approximately $200,000, according to Smith.

Furman's first night game is scheduled for Friday, April 13, at 7:00 p.m. against UNC Greensboro. In all the Paladins have nine home night games on their 2001 schedule, including a Wednesday, May 9 regular season finale against Clemson.

The addition of lights will allow Furman to play conference home games at 7:00 p.m. Friday, 6:00 p.m. Saturday, and 1:00 p.m. Sunday. In past seasons the Paladins played a Saturday afternoon doubleheader and single game Sunday.

"We've always considered our stadium a little Wrigley Field, and Wrigley now has lights, so it's time we added them. Of course we hope to win more than the Cubs do," added Smith.

The installation of lights will mark the latest in a list of improvements to Furman's baseball stadium. In 1994 a press box was constructed and a year later the university erected an ultra modern scoreboard with message center. Prior to the 1998 season 400 folding seat back chairs were installed.

Furman, which went 27-31 a year ago and finished as Southern Conference Tournament runner-up, opens its 2001 season on Saturday, Feb. 3, when it hosts High Point in a doubleheader beginning at Noon.