http://www.horizonleague.org/blog/granderson-pledges-to-build-baseball-stadium-on-uic-campus.html (http://www.horizonleague.org/blog/granderson-pledges-to-build-baseball-stadium-on-uic-campus.html)
Check out this facility upgrade for the UIC Baseball team. With Wright State adding turf and a press box in the fall, this makes the job that much tougher for Valpo Baseball
It was amazing the improvement he showed from his SO to JR seasons. He was always a tough out for our pitchers that pitched against UIC, and I don't recall us beating them while he was there, but we only played them 1-2 times/season. It is awesome that he is giving back to the program that helped him achieve his goals, and I think a 1,200 seat stadium is perfect for the intended use. The drawings look great, and the stadium will definitely be even more of a recruiting boost for them. We wouldn't need anything that big as we don't get but maybe 100 or so people at our games nowadays? If we did a grandstand-type setup, 500-600 seats would be more than enough.
I just went back and checked, and we played them 1 time each year during Granderson's years (2000, 2001, 2002 seasons), and were 1-2 in those games, with the win during his standout 2002 season. We played them 3 times while I was playing (2001, 2002, 2003; I played 2001-2004 seasons again), and were still 1-2, winning that 2002 game 16-11. As a sidenote, we also got to play against Pat Neshek (Butler), and a few other future MLB players, which is always a cool thing to say from my college years. There are too many MLB players I played against in HS and summer ball to give an accurate count of before college :).
UIC's story, mostly the same but featuring a couple still shots and another link to the video overview: http://www.uicflames.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/020613aaa.html (http://www.uicflames.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/020613aaa.html)
Maybe in 10 to 15 years, Kyle Gadele or Tanner Vavra can help give us something cool like this :)
Old news now, but check out the video for the stadium plans...
http://www.uicflames.com/facilities/les.html (http://www.uicflames.com/facilities/les.html)
Why can't we have the cool toys too? :-\
The facility is actually open now