Construction begins on a new baseball field after the current one has been unplayable for the past 3 years. LCC Baseball will play in 2026 on campus
By Sequoia Hall
The Lane Community College Board of Education approved fulfilling the contract to build a new turf baseball field at the April 2 meeting. This comes after the team has been playing at outsourced locations even for practices.
The field contracts expire at the end of the year, leaving the baseball team with nowhere to play due to their current field being in extreme disrepair. Lane’s current field has not been played on in more than two years and looks more like a dirt bike track than a place for America’s pastime.
The new field will be artificial turf. This option was chosen because of cost and time compared to the natural grass alternative, which would not have been ready till late 2026 — after baseball season. The turf field will hopefully be ready by early August 2025.
The field was initially met with hesitancy due to the question of cost and the environmental impact of turf fields. This was rebutted in a presentation by LCC Environmental Science professor Richard Glover, who talked about how the impact would not be detrimental to the environment and about the upsides for student-athletes and students. There were also numerous testimonials done during board meetings by parents, community members, and the assistant coach Henry Lovekamp, who all spoke in support of the team and the impact it would have on campus.
The LCC baseball student-athletes have not played a home game since May 2022. In 2023, they played every game in the away team’s stadium. “What this team has been able to do with the situation has been pretty incredible,” says head coach Josh Blunt.
This year, they can play their games in Eugene at the Hamlin Sports Complex, but only on Sundays. This is the only year that they can use the facility since the contract expires at the year’s end. Players could be affected by having to drive to practice every day instead of it being conveniently on campus. Having a home field will improve student access, which would lead to more team support, and the student-athletes would get better recognition for their hard work.
The field has been in the works for a while, with the board initially voting on it in summer 2023, but bureaucracy slowed the process. It got fully approved in October 2024, but the contract was agreed upon on April 2, 2025. There was a motion to move the vote back to June but the contract would have expired, so it would have killed the project. Luckily, that did not happen, and they broke ground on Monday, April 14. “It’s almost indescribable for basically three years going to Sheldon High School to Hamlin Sports Complex, even to the soccer field to practice, it will feel really good.” Says Blunt, on how having the new field will feel.
The field will have vertical stripes with two different shades of grass green and be completely artificial turf from the same company that did the University of Oregon’s PK Park.
LCC already has all the equipment, like screens, for coaches to not get hit during practices. Once the field is there, practices can start immediately. The LCC baseball team held a team barbecue with invitees, including people like some board members, who helped out massively in getting the baseball field under construction.
Having a stadium enables games and practices to be held on campus, keeping the student athletes safer because they don’t have to drive as far to practice. This also allows for the opportunity to take in-person classes since they will not be hindered by driving. “Having the field saves us at least an hour and a half, maybe two on a day-to-day basis,” Blunt says.
This will be one of the only artificial turf baseball fields in Lane County, so it should be a big attraction for lower levels of baseball as well. Blunt foresees lots of high school games being played there.
LCC will obviously have priority, which is a luxury that they haven’t had with a baseball field in three years. Coach Blunt and the rest of the squad are excited to finally have a home park that will hopefully be witness to lots of Lane wins. Stop by next spring to see a game on campus. Until then, the next home game is Sunday, April 27, at the Hamlin Sports Complex.
Baseball Field Construction Taken By Robin Tabor
