GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A little over a year and a half after the project’s initial announcement, construction of Florida Ballpark at Alfred A. McKethan Field reached its conclusion earlier this month. While subcontractors will continue applying branded graphics, signage, and other aesthetic touches to the ballpark in the coming weeks, Brasfield & Gorrie, the University Athletic Association’s construction partner for the project, is celebrating the completion of their work on the new home of Gators Baseball.
Florida Ballpark replaces McKethan Stadium as the home venue of Gators Baseball, with the new address being 2800 Citrus Road, adjacent to Dizney Stadium and Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium on the southwest part of the University of Florida campus.
“The University of Florida has always been home to some of the nation’s best athletic facilities, and they continue to improve,” said Brasfield & Gorrie Vice President and Division Manager Erik Sharpe. “Brasfield & Gorrie is honored to have worked in partnership with our trade partners to build a state-of-the-art facility for one of the nation’s best baseball teams-the Florida Gators. We also recognize the ballpark is an important step toward fulfilling the University Athletic Association’s Facilities Master Plan, and we are honored to play a substantial role in bringing that plan to life.”
Florida Ballpark will feature a 360-degree open concourse and seating, allowing fans to walk around the venue and choose their game day experience without ever losing sight of the action. Several Major League Baseball parks and TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, home of the College World Series, have similar layouts.
The field’s orientation (home plate facing the northeast) and shade structures covering multiple sections of seats will provide protection from the sun, as well as a cooler, more comfortable environment for student-athletes and fans.
Florida Ballpark will have 4,000 permanent chairback seats. Multiple premium seating options, grass berms, and non-traditional seating options, along with the ability for 700-plus fans to enjoy club seating, will give Florida Ballpark a capacity of more than 7,000. There is also the potential for added seating and an expanded capacity of up to 10,000.
Those upgrades, along with prominent entry gates and enhanced concession options, will provide Gator Nation with a tremendously-improved fan experience, in addition to an area developed for children’s activities and young fans.
Inside the facility, Florida Baseball’s staff and student-athletes will enjoy modernized amenities.
Upgrades in the new facility include: a spacious team lounge, private nutrition area, expanded locker room, video and team meeting rooms, indoor pitching and batting cages, enhanced training and rehabilitation areas, and a reception area celebrating the program’s accomplishments.
“You get one chance to build these types of facilities … facilities that will change the landscape of a program for generations to come,” Athletic Director Scott Stricklin said. “It’s exciting to think of the impact the new ballpark will have on future Gators players, coaches and fans.”
Construction Timeline
The ballpark, designed by Populous Architects, was officially announced<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_news_2018_3_23_baseball-2Dgators-2Dgetting-2Da-2Dnew-2Dballpark.aspx&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=h9gzXFbL6E8xe5CptkgBC4n5aSoQPSt8ANZd838nLvQ&s=kX8o8SXVBM4rFDBqJ9j6hEuoxcrjsjfrDAfVRW_o3GQ&e= > on March 23, 2018, at which time the UAA partnered with the University of Florida and acquired 13.63 acres of land for the project. The UAA contributed $3 million to the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences, which invested the funds in redeveloping research and instructional facilities to benefit College of Agricultural and Life Sciences students in horticultural sciences, plant pathology, environmental horticulture, and agronomy programs.
“This is a win-win for UF/IFAS, our students, faculty and the university community,” Jack M. Payne, UF senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources, said of the UAA’s contribution. “Teaching and research activities will continue and students will continue to learn in facilities and agricultural sites appropriate to the level of a top 10 public university.”
The UAA announced its construction management partnership with Brasfield & Gorrie in May of 2018, and the UAA’s board officially approved<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_news_2018_12_12_baseball-2Duaa-2Dmaster-2Dfacilities-2Dplan-2Dupdate.aspx&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=h9gzXFbL6E8xe5CptkgBC4n5aSoQPSt8ANZd838nLvQ&s=AqKhRzP4-S5mNB-y6PDwtOEGBwNnEQLFnxElpwDxLfE&e= > the construction project and its estimated $65 million budget in December of 2018. Brasfield & Gorrie selected its Jacksonville office to manage the project.
Construction of the ballpark began with a groundbreaking ceremony on Feb. 8, 2019. FloridaGators.com Senior Writer Scott Carter was among the roughly 150 guests on hand for the ceremony, and provided on-site coverage<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_news_2019_2_8_baseball-2Dgators-2Dbreak-2Dground-2Don-2Dfuture-2Dhome-2Dballpark.aspx&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=h9gzXFbL6E8xe5CptkgBC4n5aSoQPSt8ANZd838nLvQ&s=ktub8UkQFiUvxGdV303crUICUmCqrTxWNNtgHmZFAqE&e= >.
Seven months later, Brasfield & Gorrie and its subcontractors, the UAA, and officials from UF celebrated<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_news_2019_9_25_baseball-2Dtopping-2Dout-2Dceremony-2Dmarks-2Dconstruction-2Dmilestone-2Dat-2Dflorida-2Dballpark.aspx&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=h9gzXFbL6E8xe5CptkgBC4n5aSoQPSt8ANZd838nLvQ&s=2ogukOC32zKdjZ2KVk7WHvL5dECE0WDieIJPhOmyJ4A&e= > the topping out, a construction milestone marking the completion of the building’s concrete and steel structure. Brasfield & Gorrie used automated machine control technology, which reduced labor and allowed the crew to complete foundation work in half the time it would normally take.
The structure’s makeup is a combination of cast-in-place concrete and structural steel with a spread-footing foundation.
By January, Brasfield & Gorrie built the walls along the playing field and berms, dugouts, grand entry staircase, precast raker wall foundations, and structural steel foundations. Each of those tasks were self-performed by Brasfield & Gorrie with its skilled labor forces, providing the general contractor with superior control over schedule, cost, quality, and safety.
February saw the installation of the field drainage system and permanent chairback seats.
The ballpark truly took shape in April. By the end of the month, installation was completed on light towers, sod, field turf, and, through the UAA’s partnership with Daktronics, a high-quality LED video display scoreboard featuring the highest quality of brightness and resolution in the industry. Ribbons boards were added in early May.
Brasfield & Gorrie Senior Superintendent Tim Small planned the sequence of the aforementioned scopes of work to ensure they were completed on time without interfering with field installation.
In July, the UAA began installation of branding and graphics throughout the facility, most notably the illuminated signage visible from Hull Road. Installations of the Gatorade Fuel Bar in the student-athlete nutrition area, and hydration stations in both dugouts were recently completed as well.
Brasfield & Gorrie also started its construction of a synthetic practice field on the southeast corner of the site.
About Brasfield & Gorrie
Founded in 1964, Brasfield & Gorrie is one of the nation’s largest privately held construction firms, providing general contracting, design-build, and construction management services for a wide variety of markets. They are skilled in construction best practices, including virtual design and construction, integrated project delivery, and lean construction, but are best known for preconstruction and self-perform expertise and exceptional client service. Brasfield & Gorrie has 12 offices and approximately 3,000 employees. Their 2019 revenues were $3.8 billion. Engineering News-Record ranks Brasfield & Gorrie 22nd among the nation’s “Top 400 Contractors” for 2020.
Brasfield & Gorrie, one of the nation’s largest privately held construction firms, has a large portfolio of projects, including several on or near the UF campus. The firm’s past projects with the UAA and UF include the renovation of Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, the Gary Condron Family Indoor Practice Facility, the addition and renovation of the Florida Gymnastics facility, Infinity Hall at Innovation Square, the UF Health Ambulatory Care facility at Wildlight in Nassau County, and a new parking garage on the main Gainesville campus.
In addition, the firm has extensive experience with baseball projects, including work on SunTrust Park, home of the Atlanta Braves, Regions Field in Birmingham, Alabama, North Augusta Ballpark in North Augusta, S.C., and Phase 2 of the Hoover Metropolitan Complex in Hoover, Ala., which hosts the annual Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament.
