Goss Stadium is Growing Up.

Expansion Project Underway

Goss Stadium is Growing Up.
Corvallis Jewel is a Diamond.

-By Matt Wilhelmsen.

In the heart of Oregon's Benton County, in the core of the Mid-Valley, within the city limits of Corvallis, on the campus of Oregon State University, off 26th and Washington Way lies a "diamond" in the proverbial rough, a genuine field of dreams. That shiny gem is Goss Stadium at Coleman Field - home of the back-to-back National Champion Oregon State Beavers and the Corvallis Knights of the wood-bat West Coast Collegiate League.

Its shine is soon to get much brighter.

The oldest baseball field in the Pac-10 is far from the roughest. In fact, its latest polish, an ambitious expansion, is sure to make it the jewel of college parks in the Pacific Northwest and arguably the top collegiate park on the West Coast.

Oregon State, then known as Oregon Agriculture College, played its first game on April 12, 1907 in this same place.

It later became Coleman Field and was re-named in 1999 after John and Elaine Goss, whose kind donation made a baseball stadium here a reality.

6 coaches, 100 years and over 3,000 baseball games later, Coleman Field continues to sink its roots in this special place on campus, the walls around it rising for a second time in 10 years.

Much thanks to the school's two-time National Champs.

The State, Corvallis and University are all benefiting from the Beavers surreal success in an intercollegiate sport that has never been more popular.

"College Baseball is absolutely exploding," said Corvallis Knights team president Dan Segel. "It's only going to get bigger and garner more exposure."

OSU has sold out its season ticket allotment for two years running, an impressive feat for a Northern school. The overwhelming demand for seating in the post-season prompted the setup of temporary outfield bleachers increasing total capacity from 2,300 to over 3,000. But even with the temp seating, the athletic department failed to meet demand resulting in fan-made "scaffolding" at last year's Super Regional.

"Just looking out at our own backyard, the success of OSU is going to drive improvements in other regional programs and their facilities," continued Segel. "College baseball is no longer under the radar. It's going to continue to grow. It's exciting and OSU and the Corvallis Knights are both pioneers in this whole thing."

Currently, Goss offers both fans and players alike adequate amenities: spacious dugouts, home and visiting clubhouses, concessions, a lounge area for boosters, a wired press box and batting cages. The Beavs first national title helped realize further state-of-the-art facility enhancements, specifically the Stadium's new video scoreboard and infield field turf.

This year's expansion includes new permanent seating, continuing the same two-tier architecture down both base lines. The first and third base line seating will extend all the way down to the visiting and home bullpens and bring fans even closer to the action with its intimate field level seating. Permanent seating will grow to 3,000.

The first base line construction will also feature an open club level (i.e.- luxury box) that includes 75 premium seats only accessible from that level, an academic center for OSU baseball players, coaches offices and a memorabilia room. The third base line construction will feature a new players lounge.

When asked about the expansion project, Braden Wells, a senior outfielder for Oregon State and Corvallis Knights alum, commented, "We always liked seeing student fans come out when we were on the road, it will be nice to see what kind of student fan base we can attract at OSU now that there will be more seating for them."

The expansion of Goss Stadium benefits not only the University and its students, but the conference and furthermore the City of Corvallis. When asked what kind of impact the stadium will have on the Knights' new hometown, Segel responded, "This ballpark will attract more first-class national events such as Regionals, Super Regionals, possibly the Summer College World Series and other amateur baseball tournaments such as State High School Baseball Championships and All-Star series. The new Goss Stadium will be a legitimate attraction the community can be proud of and a park that is going to positively impact the local economy for many years to come."

Goss Stadium is getting a new look and it is looking pretty. It is a real diamond. Come try it on for size in 2008. (click on red type to read the osubeavers.com story)

Oregon State head baseball coach Pat Casey took questions about the expansion in a press conference held yesterday. (click on the red type to view and hear Coach Casey)