Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium

Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium
Shipley Field, as viewed from Byrd Stadium, October 2013
Map
Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium is located in Maryland
Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium
Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium
Location within Maryland
Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium is located in the United States
Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium
Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium
Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium (the United States)
Full nameShipley Field at Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium
Former namesShipley Field (1956–2009)
Address4122 Fieldhouse Drive
College Park, Maryland
Coordinates38°59′21″N 76°56′39″W / 38.98917°N 76.94417°W / 38.98917; -76.94417
OwnerUniversity of Maryland, College Park
OperatorUniversity of Maryland, College Park
TypeStadium
Genre(s)Baseball
Capacity2,500
Field size
  • LF: 320 ft (97.5 m)
  • CF: 385 ft (117.3 m)
  • RF: 325 ft (99.1 m)
SurfaceFieldTurf
ScoreboardDigital
Construction
Built1953–54
OpenedApril 3, 1954 (1954 -04-03)
Renovated2004, 2015
Construction cost$40,000 (1954); $150,000 (2004)
Tenants
Website
Official website

Shipley Field at Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium is a baseball stadium in College Park, Maryland. It has served as the home field of the Maryland Terrapins baseball team at the University of Maryland since 1954. Shipley Field was formerly the home of the College Park Bombers of the Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League,[1] and was also used as a baseball venue by the Bowie Baysox during the 1994 season.[2] The major league Washington Senators held a practice at Shipley Field on April 8, 1968, when their Opening Day game was postponed in the aftermath of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.[3]

The stadium holds 2,500 people and opened on April 3, 1954.[4] It was dedicated as Shipley Field to former Maryland baseball coach Burton Shipley on March 28, 1956.[4] On May 8, 2010, it was re-dedicated as Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium.[4]

In 2004, a new artificial turf replaced an older turf installation in the stadium's infield, and improvements were made to the under field drainage system.[5] After the 2015 season, the artificial turf infield and bermuda grass outfield were replaced with a FieldTurf surface; new drainage was installed underneath; a home team closed off bullpen was created in left field foul territory; both bullpens received FieldTurf surfaces; and the outfield wall was moved father out.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League Ballparks". ripkenscollegebaseball.org. Archived from the original on February 27, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2009.
  2. ^ Baker, Kent (February 24, 1994). "Baysox eye home away from home". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on May 16, 2021.
  3. ^ Allen, Scott (March 29, 2018). "Fifty years ago, Nats' Opening Day was postponed after assassination of Martin Luther King Jr". D.C. Sports Bog. The Washington Post. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d "Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium". University of Maryland Athletics. University of Maryland. June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  5. ^ "Colleges & Universities - University of Maryland; College Park, Maryland". Lloyd Civil & Sports Engineering. Archived from the original on August 31, 2015. Retrieved September 11, 2013.


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