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Founders Park
Baseball park at University of South Carolina
Baseball park at University of South Carolina
| Field | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| name | Founders Park | |
| former_names | Carolina Stadium (2009–2015) | |
| nickname | "The Rock by the River" | |
| image | [[Image:Carolina Stadium.jpg | 250px]] |
| location | Columbia, South Carolina | |
| broke_ground | 2007 | |
| opened | February 21, 2009 | |
| surface | 419 Bermuda turf grass | |
| construction_cost | $35.6 million | |
| architect | Populous | |
| general_contractor | Contract Construction | |
| tenants | South Carolina Gamecocks (2009-present) | |
| seating_capacity | 8,242 (total) | |
| record_attendance | 8,242 |
6,600 (seated)
Founders Park, formerly known as Carolina Stadium, is a ballpark in Columbia, South Carolina on the banks of the Congaree River. The facility cost $35.6 million to build and is the home stadium for the South Carolina Gamecocks college baseball team.
Overview
The main stadium entrance to Founders Park is located at the northeast corner of the grounds directly behind the center-field wall. Following the 2010 national championship, USC had a mural applied to the backside of its center-field wall (to be viewed as visitors and fans enter onto stadium grounds), celebrating the 2010 title. In addition, a showcase was built at the base of the wall for the display of the national championship trophy. The mural and trophy case have since been updated to honor both the 2010 and 2011 championship teams.
In 2013, the website Stadium Journey ranked Carolina Stadium as the second best Division I baseball venue, and received an average rating 4.6 of 5 stars in 7 categories. In 2014, the website ranked it first, with an average rating 4.7 of 5 stars in 7 categories.
In 2015, the ballpark's name was officially changed from Carolina Stadium to Founders Park, becoming only the third college baseball stadium in the United States with a corporate sponsorship. This advertising agreement was extended in 2024.
History
The stadium opened on February 21, 2009, with a 13–0 South Carolina victory over Duquesne with 8,153 fans in attendance, setting a Gamecock home game attendance record. USC President Harris Pastides and former Gamecock baseball coaches Bobby Richardson and June Raines threw out ceremonial first pitches. Darius Rucker, who attended USC, sang the national anthem.
A stadium record attendance of 8,242 was set during a game against Florida on May 21, 2010. This record has been matched many times since. The highest attendance for a three-game weekend series, 24,726, was set on April 15–17, 2011, when the Gamecocks hosted #1 Vanderbilt.
Tournaments Hosted
NCAA Regional Tournaments: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2021, 2023
NCAA Super Regional Tournaments: 2011, 2012, 2016, 2021
Key dates
| Event | Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broke ground | 2007 | - | |
| First game | February 21, 2009 | Duquesne | W 13–0 |
| First sellout | May 21, 2010 | Florida | L 2–5 |
| 100th win | March 3, 2012 | Clemson | W 9–6 |
| One millionth fan | May 9, 2012 | Furman | W 7–0 |
|}
South Carolina Gamecocks' Record in Founders Park (2009–Present)
| Year | Games | Overall W–L | Overall Win Pct | NCAA W–L | NCAA Win Pct | Total Attendance (SEC/Nat Rank) | Avg Attendance (SEC/Nat Rank) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 35 | 26–9 | .742 | 0–0 | - | 231,360 (4th/4th) | 6,805 (4th/4th) |
| 2010 | 36 | 30–6 | .833 | 3–0 | 1.000 | 236,529 (3rd/4th) | 6,758 (4th/4th) |
| 2011 | 40 | 36–4 | .900 | 5–0 | 1.000 | 297,279 (2nd/2nd) | 7,431 (4th/4th) |
| 2012 | 39 | 32–7 | .821 | 5–0 | 1.000 | 295,389 (2nd/2nd) | 7,574 (3rd/3rd) |
| 2013 | 37 | 31–6 | .838 | 3–0 | 1.000 | 260,605 (3rd/3rd) | 7,445 (5th/5th) |
| 2014 | 41 | 34–7 | .829 | 2–2 | .500 | 305,564 (2nd/2nd) | 7,453 (3rd/3rd) |
| 2015 | 36 | 25–11 | .694 | 0-0 | .000 | 250,057 (3rd/3rd) | 7,354 (4th/4th) |
| 2016 | 41 | 34–7 | .829 | 4-3 | .571 | 293,677 (3rd/3rd) | 7,162 (5th/5th) |
| 2017 | 36 | 23–13 | .639 | 0-0 | .000 | 258,407 (4th/4th) | 7,177 (5th/5th) |
| 2018 | 34 | 24–10 | .706 | 0-0 | .000 | 229,434 (4th/4th) | 6,748 (4th/4th) |
| Totals* | 375 | 295–80 | .787 | 22–5 | .815 | 2,658,301 | 7,089 |
|} *****Totals only reflect completed seasons
References
References
- "2013 College Baseball Ballpark Rankings - Stadium Journey".
- "NCAA Ballpark Experience Rankings 2014 - Stadium Journey".
- Shain, Andrew. (October 20, 2015). "Gamecocks baseball stadium to be renamed Founders Park". The State.
- "Founders Park - The Home Of Carolina Baseball University of South Carolina Official Athletic Site".
- Titus, Payton. (September 27, 2024). "South Carolina extends baseball stadium naming rights deal. Here are the details". The State.
- (2022-06-04). "Founders Park".
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
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