GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Florida baseball will be playing in a new ballpark soon, however, the timeline is slightly longer.
The Gators were expecting to begin construction on the baseball stadium this fall, with the goal of completing it before the 2020 year, however, due to rising construction costs.
"This is an exciting day for Gators Baseball and our entire athletic department," athletics director Scott Stricklin said in a press release. "While our original hope was to have the ballpark available at the beginning of 2020, and therefore available for play that season, this period of rising construction prices has required additional time to finalize the design, and has caused us to adjust our timeline by a few months.
"You get one chance to build these types of facilities ... facilities that will change the landscape of a program for generations to come. It's exciting to think of the impact the new ballpark will have on future Gators players, coaches and fans."
The baseball stadium is now set to be a $65 million project, 15 million over the initial estimate. The new budget was approved by the University Athletic Association - pending the approval by the UF board of Trustees.
The project is set to be delayed another year. UF hopes to complete a standalone football facility by the end of 2021. The facility will be connected to the indoor practice facility. The Gators will also be upgrading the locker room inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in that time - that locker room will only used for game days, since the new facility will house locker rooms for practices.
The football facility is taking over where the baseball stadium currently sits. The new stadium will be relocated on Hull road, near Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium (softball) and Donald R. Dizney Stadium (lacrosse). Florida expects the stadium to break ground in February and have it completed by June 2020. The Gators' first season in the new ballpark will be in 2021.
Although a delay, Stricklin and the Gators have done a good job of raising money for the project.
"To date we have raised more than 50 percent of our fundraising goal," Gator Boosters Inc. Executive Director Phil Pharr said. "We are fortunate that Gator Nation shares in our vision of delivering a championship experience. We are appreciative of their investment into the future of Gator Athletics and the individual life-changing opportunities our student-athletes have available to them in Gainesville."
