IUPUI Softball Field In Poor Condition, In Need of Renovations

Senior Jaida Speth and her sister, Jasmin Speth, a sophomore are well aware of the issues at the IUPUI softball complex. Some of the issues include flooding in the outfield, lights on the scoreboard not working, the dugouts being too small for players and smelling like sewer, and the bullpen being too small for pitchers to warm up in.

The Speths say when one issue is addressed, another is often exposed. The athletic department constructed a new fence last year, leaving behind eight-foot-long puddles.

 “It's honestly probably still there, it was there for two months in the fall”, says Jasmin Speth. 

The IUPUI softball complex has a rich history but there are now a multitude of problems such as flooding on the field, lights not working in the scoreboard, and little room for players in the dugouts and bullpens. So why do they have these problems and why are they not being fixed? 

The IUPUI softball complex was built in preparation for the 1987 Pan American games, but before then in 1983, the IUPUI Metros softball team went to their first of nine consecutive trips to the NAIA national tournament. While the Metros played on a modest field back then, the boost they received in 1987 by the addition of the new field allowed them to continue their dominant stretch of winning until 1991. 

Now the IUPUI softball complex looks tired. After being played on for 35 years it shows its age. Jaida Speth, a senior on the IUPUI softball team, talks about some of the problems with the field, 

“The warning track is dangerous because it's soft and the dugouts are small and it tends to smell like sewer”. 

She also said that some of the scoreboard lights don't work and the bullpen does not have a lot of room for the pitchers. 

While there are issues with the complex, the IUPUI athletic department has made some renovations to the field recently. Ed Holdaway, Assistant AD for IUPUI has noted some of the updates that have happened recently.

“The most recent renovations have been an updated backstop and netting behind home plate and improved drainage and grading to the playing surface”. Says Ed, “recently work is being done on the batting cages just beyond left field”.

The complex might be old and in need of some repairs but it still has a great location in the Indianapolis area, and great potential as a unique and fun ballpark for teams in the Horizon League to play at. 

“The stadium is right by the zoo and the nature trails,” says Jaida. “The best part of the stadium is the potential that it has to be a really unique stadium”.