The University of Arizona won the College World Series in convincing fashion, and players credit the program’s move to Hi Corbett Field as a contributing factor.
This was the first year the Wildcats played at the venerable WPA-era facility, used for spring training and minor-league ball for decades. Indeed, we’ve covered this story many times this season and noted the pro-style ballpark gave the team a home-field advantage and evolved into a major draw in Tucson, turning the program into a revenue generator.
“There is no way that we do what we did this year if we’re not at Hi Corbett Field,” said coach Andy Lopez earlier in the season. “It’s been a lot of fun because you’re playing in front of a crowd and you feel that atmosphere and you feel the intensity.”
Discarded minor-league and spring-training ballparks are already proven to work at the summer-collegiate level. And Hi Corbett Field certainly won’t be the last ballpark to be used in this manner: the Arizona State Sun Devils may turn to Phoenix Municipal Stadium if efforts to sign a lease at a new Cubs training facility in Mesa aren’t successful.
RELATED STORIES: For Wildcats, move to Hi Corbett Field pays off; Wildcats settling in at Hi Corbett; Arizona Wildcats to Hi Corbett Field for 2012 and beyond
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