< PreviousJim Patterson StadiumStadium S ince its opening in 2005, Jim Patterson Stadium has provided the University of Louisville baseball program with one of the great home field advantages in all of college baseball. With an initial seating capacity of 2,500 upon opening, the ballpark under- went an expansion project prior to the 2013 season increasing capacity to more than 4,000 and maintaining Jim Patterson Stadi- um as one of the elite facilities in the nation. Spearheaded by the leadership gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jim Patterson, the privately funded expansion of Jim Patterson Stadium was a $4 million facility development plan which featured the addition of 1,500 chair back seats, a 6,400 sq. ft. terrace directly acces- sible above the chair back seats and a two- tiered ground level terrace extending from the first and third base dugouts. The project also included an expanded press box, which doubled the previous space used to facilitate media and hospitality, and a visiting team locker room behind the third base dugout. The expansion doubled the number of chair back seats taking the total to 3,000 while the overall seating capacity of more than 4,000 places Jim Patterson Stadium among the Top 30 of university controlled collegiate ballparks in the nation. The increased perma- nent seating enables Louisville to host NCAA Regional and Super Regional games without the additional expense of temporary bleacher rentals. Since its opening, Jim Patterson Stadi- um has hosted eight NCAA Regionals (2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019) and six NCAA Super Regionals (2007, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019). After starting construction in August of 2004, the University of Louisville unveiled Jim Patterson Stadium, located at the cor- ner of Central Avenue and Third Street, on Friday, April 15, 2005, when the Cardinals battled East Carolina in front of a then- school record crowd of 3,213. A pregame ceremony to officially dedi- cate the stadium featured UofL graduate, former baseball team walk-on and local entrepreneur Jim Patterson, whose seven- figure donation led the drive to construct the $8.5 million ballpark. Joining Patterson were Louisville Mayor Jerry Abrahamson, UofL Board of Trustees Chairman Junior Bridge- man, U.S. Representative Anne M. Northup, UofL President Dr. James Ramsey, UofL Vice president for Athletics Tom Jurich, and more than 100 UofL baseball alumni. Along with the 3,000 chairback seats, Jim Patterson Stadium has a tiered, turf berm in left field. The press box features an expanded television suite, two radio booths, game operations booth, an expanded seating area for non-broadcast media, an AD suite and a development suite. The ballpark measures 330 feet down the lines, 375 to the power alleys and 402 to straightaway center. Prior to the 2015 season, the University of Lou- isville partnered with ANC Sports for the installation of a new LED video board in right-centerfield at Jim Patterson Stadium. The all-digital surface more than quadrupled the size of the previous video space and measures 36-feet wide and 23-feet tall. 28 University of Louisville | gocards.com“I love this ballpark. I love this setting — you have Churchill Downs on one side and Cardinal Stadium on the other. It’s sitting right in the middle of Louisville. I love it. This is just a cool college ballpark.” – Kyle Peterson, ESPN College Baseball Analyst The playing surface is FieldTurf, same as the Tampa Bay Rays’ Tropicana Field, as well as Louisville’s Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. The playing field was completely resurfaced in the summer of 2013 providing the Cardi- nals with one of the nation’s best surfaces. The exterior of the ballpark has elements that mirror UofL’s nearby football facility. The adjacent building along the first base side of the ballpark houses the baseball offices, while the basement of the building features three pitching/batting cages, full club house facilities with a players’ lounge, theatre style team-meeting room, weight room, equipment room, computer lab, train- ing room and laundry facilities. The Flaker Family Pro Locker Room was unveiled in January of 2019. Located behind the UofL dugout and accessible from the first base concourse, the Flaker Family Pro Locker Room features 10 spacious lockers, two showers, one kitchenette and lounge space with a couch, two chairs and two televisions. The Pro Locker Room is open to UofL alumni in professional baseball for off-season train- ing while also serving as an umpires’ locker room on game days at Jim Patterson Stadium. The first eight feet of the roof supports are constructed with green brick from the left field wall at historic Parkway Field, and infield dirt was taken from Parkway and placed in the batters box as a tribute to a facility that has seen the likes of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Honus Wagner, Grover Cleve- land Alexander, Satchel Paige, Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robinson among others. In January of 2007, crews converted the home plate area from dirt into a field turf surface complete with permanent batters boxes. The only dirt on the field is on the pitcher’s mound. The stadium was placed on display to a nationwide audience and received rave reviews during the 2007 Super Regional between the Cardinals and Oklahoma State, with all three games being televised by ESPN and ESPN2. Fans poured into the stadium, establishing impressive attendance numbers. The 2008 off-season included a complete reconstruction of the left field berm, with ter- racing giving the fans a place for a lawn chair or blanket. Children of all ages can enjoy the playground beyond the fence in centerfield. The Cardinals have won more than 77 percent of their games at Jim Patterson Stadium since opening the gates during the 2005 season. Of the 14 NCAA post- season rounds contested at Jim Patterson Stadium, the Louisville baseball program has advanced through 11 of those, includ- ing the 2019 NCAA Regional and NCAA Super Regional to clinch the program’s fifth College World Series appearance. In NCAA Championship games at Jim Patter- son Stadium, the Cardinals have produced a 33-9 record, including 11 straight wins from 2013 to 2015. A school record crowd of 6,237 packed the ballpark to watch as Louisville defeated UK on June 10, 2017 to clinch a trip to Omaha. All areas of the park are accessible to those with physical disabilities. gocards.com | University of Louisville 29At Jim Patterson Stadium 1. 6,237 June 10, 2017 vs. Kentucky (W, 6-2) NCAA Super Regional 2. 6,235 June 9, 2017 vs. Kentucky (W, 5-2) NCAA Super Regional 3. 6,210 April 4, 2017 vs. Kentucky (W, 5-3) Regular Season 4. 6,138 May 8, 2015 vs. Florida State (L, 13-4) Regular Season 5. 6,010 June 8, 2015 vs. Cal State Fullerton (L, 4-3) NCAA Super Regional 6. 6,007 June 7, 2014 vs. Kennesaw State (W, 7-4) NCAA Super Regional 7. 5,351 June 6, 2014 vs. Kennesaw State (W, 5-3) NCAA Super Regional 8. 5,143 May 29, 2015 vs. Morehead State (W, 7-2) NCAA Regional 9. 5,056 April 28, 2015 vs. Kentucky (W, 2-1) Regular Season 10. 5,042 May 12, 2015 vs. Vanderbilt (L, 5-2) Regular Season A 2013 finalist on NBC’s “The Voice” and a Louisville native, Olivia Henken has performed the national anthem numerous times at Jim Patterson Stadium.” Top 10 Home Crowds in Louisville Baseball History (All Games at Jim Patterson Stadium) Game DayGame Day 30 University of Louisville | gocards.comgocards.com | University of Louisville 31Pro Locker Room T he Flaker Family Pro Locker Room at Jim Patterson Stadium was officially opened on January 28, 2019 during a ribbon cut- ting ceremony with UofL Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics/Director of Athletics Vince Tyra and head coach Dan McDonnell joined by Aaron and Ashley Flaker, who pro- vided the lead gift on the Pro Locker Room. Located behind the UofL dugout and accessible from the first base concourse, the Flaker Family Pro Locker Room features 10 spacious lockers, two showers, one kitch- enette and lounge space with a couch, two chairs and two televisions. The Pro Locker Room will be open to Louisville alumni in professional baseball for off-season training while also serving as an umpires’ locker room on game days at Jim Patterson Stadium. Flaker Family 32 University of Louisville | gocards.comShad Mason O n Friday, May 5, 2006, University of Louisville senior Brian Halford struck out a career-high 10 in eight innings to lead the Cardinals to a 4-3 win over Villanova on a rain-soaked night at Jim Patterson Stadium. But that was secondary to a pregame ceremony during which the Shad Mason HACK SHACK, an indoor batting facility located down the right field line at Patterson Stadium, was dedicated. The SHACK is named after the son of former UofL head baseball coach John Mason. Shad Mason’s life was tragically cut short by cancer when he was 12 years old. Now, through the generosity of local businessmen and the Mason Family, the Cardinal baseball team can get in a bullpen session or some swings 365 days a year, regardless of the weather conditions with the state-of-the-art indoor batting facility that can be used in conjunction with the basement facilities at the stadium and the Trager Center just beyond the cen- ter field fence. SHACKSHACK HACKHACK gocards.com | University of Louisville 33Broadcast Center UofL Athletics 34 University of Louisville | gocards.com T he Atlantic Coast Conference and ESPN partnered to launch the comprehensive linear and digital ACC Network on Aug. 22, 2019. To support production for the network, the University of Louisville built a television production facility on the north- east corner of its campus to house all the equipment and personnel that is necessary to originate live programming. UofL’s 2018 production of “Louisville Live,” a preseason basketball event, won a national 2019 SVG College Sports Media Award as the best collegiate Outstanding Live Non-Game Production. The 7,850 square foot production facility was completed in September 2018 and is connected by fiber to UofL athletic venues and to ESPN. Instead of mobile trucks covering sporting events, live programming will be originated from the new centralized production facility. The $8 million project included construc- tion, equipment and integration, and fiber connection to UofL venues. The broadcast center includes two full video control rooms for linear telecasts which will air on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or the ACC Network. Those two control rooms and three additional scaled back control rooms allow for live telecasts of multiple events that may either overlap, or are concurrently played to air on multiple television platforms. With fiber connections to each venue, the broadcast center also produces live, in-game content for UofL venue video walls such as those in Cardinal Stadium, Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium, KFC Yum! Center, Jim Pat- terson Stadium and Ulmer Field. The UofL Athletics Broadcast Center is connected by fiber to ESPN. The production facility includes a bureau studio, which allows coaches and players to do live interviews on any ESPN platform or broadcast channels. Also included in the center is a versatile studio with variable sets and a full green screen wall, personnel work space and editing rooms. The Cardinals also maintain a television production mobile unit for venues that are not connected by fiber to the broadcast center. The center is used for the creation of not only ACC Network and ESPN content, but for other video projects in support of the athletics department as well. The broadcast center also provides educational opportuni- ties for UofL students.Student Housing Live like a Cardinal A mong the campus living options at the University of Louisville is the modern Bettie Johnson Hall, located on the northwest corner of campus. Campus life continues to build at UofL with the addition of Cardinal Park athletic facilities, new student housing, and many on-campus student events. The new student quarters are equipped with modern kitchens and private bedrooms featuring individual phone, computer and cable television connections. The complex also contains a pool, sand volleyball court, fitness center, television room, game room and laundry facilities. When it comes to student living the Uni- versity of Louisville sets the bar high. They are among the elite when it student living options, offering some of the finest living quarters in the nation. Students have the luxury of having many fine amenities, dining options and stores right at the palm of their hand. gocards.com | University of Louisville 35Cardinals Baseball: Louisville’s Team 36 University of Louisville | gocards.comLouisville The University & CityNext >