Polishing MSU's Crown Jewel

I am going to reprise something that I have posted on Sixpack on occasion, and I think it's appropriate given the renovations to the stadium that are beginning and the new survey that Mississippi State athletic director Greg Byrne just sent out.

First of all, what's happening now at Dudy-Noble Field? And no, they're not planting soybeans. Apparently, the drainage system dates back to the Jimmy Bragan era- at least- which was 1975. What has happened over time is rain and the elements have washed the dirt from the field into the drain pipes, and they have become clogged. For those of you are not plumbers, if a pipe gets clogged, things get backed up, in this case water which goes onto the playing field. This creates an unsafe place for the players to play. Allegedly, I don't have access to it or I would put it on here, there is a powerpoint that MSU head baseball coach John Cohen showed Byrne with several members of the MSU grounds crew standing knee deep in a puddle of water on Dudy-Noble Field. So, MSU is having a new drainage system put in place, and it hopefully will be ready in time for fall baseball practice. Another issue regarding drainage- the warning track was basically finely crushed brick. This crushed brick has been the main culprit as far as the drainage woes are concerned. So, what MSU is going to do is replace the warning track with Fieldturf which will not wash away like the crushed brick concoction. It also may allow for safer landings for those of you in the Left Field Lounge that choose to leap on the field after MSU wins a Super Regional, but don't quite get enough elevation and land head first on the warning track. (You know who you are)

Speaking of the Left Field Lounge, the chain link fence will be replaced with a more durable fence that will have some sort of wooden board under it to keep it from "ballooning out" and then the fence will be padded on the outside.

Some renovations that you may not see include knocking a wall out of the MSU clubhouse to provide more room for instruction and also, the dugouts will be expanded by six feet to allow for better egress. Railing will also be placed in front of the dugout as well. Another thing that will be upgraded will be the MSU bullpen which will have some sort of brick structure and also will have fieldturf as well.

Then there are some things that are on the docket. This includes renovating the press box and the luxury boxes, and according to MSU, the luxury boxes also take on water when it rains. I guess MSU is trying to have America's only baseball field/ natatorium in America. And who said that Larry Templeton didn't think outside the box? The seats will also have to be replaced as they are no longer manufactured, and if a seat breaks, oh well.

What are some things that MSU could do to make Dudy-Noble Field even better? Well, here's my take:

• Build a MSU baseball museum. This has been done before by several Major League teams. The Cardinals have one, and I know as a Cardinals fan, I get no greater sense of pride than when I go there and see all of the great Cardinals players and moments. MSU has a rich baseball history as well, and it should be celebrated. I think a lot of MSU fans do not realize this, and I think a museum would be a great way to educate people on this. It's also a great recruiting tool as well.
• Have more food options. No offense to the American Legion of Columbus or Maben Baptist Church, I mean, ya'll do a really good job running the concession stand, but there are just times when I want something other than a hot dog or a hamburger with nothing on them. For example, catfish. I remember there was a time when Penn's had a stand in the Left Field Lounge. I say bring them back. Also, bring back Lil' Dooey's and Papa John's.
• Renovate the stadium. That's pretty broad. But I'll narrow it down. First of all, renovate the concession stands. (First Baptist of Maben says Amen.) Along with it, renovate the ticket window into something attractive with more windows and then add a statue of Will Clark and Rafael Palmeiro in front of the stadium. I have heard that they will add a brick facade to the outside of the stadium at some point in time- and that's a great start. And also take out the high school bleachers and add seats all the way down to the bullpens and add more luxury boxes. An HD scoreboard would be awesome- especially without feaux brick.
• Do more things to attract more fans- especially the students. The SEC games sort of sell themselves. You have two SEC teams, the team's better pitcher's pitch, the games have more riding on them, and they're on the weekend. The midweek games are often times more difficult. With good reason. Many times, MSU is playing Central Arkansas on a work day. Excuses aside, these are the games that need to be designated to go after the people who are there and live on very little sleep and junk food- college students. And MSU has plenty. Have promotions geared towards them like Greek Day- where everyone is encouraged to wear a toga, give out coupons to the Bulldog Deli, have concerts after the games. There's a ton of stuff to do. And then do things between innings. The only thing MSU does is have the chicken dance. And there's nothing more depressing than watching the MSU bullpen blow an eight run lead followed up by some polka. The video game home run derby is good. But do more things- like the dizzy bat race. I mean, what's more fun than watching some drunk guy from the Left Field Lounge hit on a Diamond Girl and then spin around and fall down on his face in front of 10,000 people? Go to any minor league game and look at the stuff that they do that is relatively simple to do.

I think the current athletic leadership at MSU is going in the right direction with Dudy-Noble Field and that excites me a lot. Hopefully, if they follow some of my suggestions, and make me the curator of the MSU baseball museum for a meager salary of 1.5 million dollars we can have more moments like this.