Southwest University Park
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August 2014
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| Full name | Southwest University Park |
|---|---|
| Location | 1 Ballpark Plaza El Paso, Texas 79901 |
| Coordinates | 31°45′32″N 106°29′35″W / 31.759°N 106.493°WCoordinates: 31°45′32″N 106°29′35″W / 31.759°N 106.493°W |
| Owner | City of El Paso |
| Operator | MountainStar Sports Group |
| Capacity | 7,500 (fixed seating) 9,500–10,000 (plus additional seating) |
| Field size |
Left Field: 322 ft (98 m) L. Center: 392 ft (119 m) Center: 406 ft (124 m) R. Center: 384 ft (117 m) Right Field: 322 ft (98 m) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | May 30, 2013 |
| Opened | April 28, 2014 |
| Construction cost | $72 million |
| Architect |
Populous MNK Architects, Inc. |
| Project manager | International Facilities Group, LLC |
| Structural engineer | Walter P Moore |
| Services engineer | Henderson Engineers, Inc. |
| General contractor | C. F. Jordan/Hunt |
| Tenants | |
| El Paso Chihuahuas (PCL) (2014–present) | |
Southwest University Park is a baseball stadium in El Paso, Texas. Primarily used for Minor League Baseball, it is the home of the El Paso Chihuahuas of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. Opened in 2014, the facility has an official capacity of 9,500, with 7,500 fixed seats with the rest being berm and party deck standing room sections.
The name "Southwest University" is applied as a corporate sponsor, and not as the home stadium of the University (which has no intercollegiate athletics program). Southwest University Park was named as the best new ball park in 2014 by Ballpark Digest. The elevation of the playing field is approximately 3,750 feet (1,140 m) above sea level.
The complex is situated upon the site of El Paso's former City Hall, which was demolished by implosion on April 14, 2013, to make way for the stadium. Former El Paso Mayor Ray Salazar had filed a 2013 lawsuit to stop the demolition of the old City Hall, alleging the misuse of public funds by city officials, but the lawsuit was dismissed in court.
Ground for the ballpark was broken on May 30, 2013 with 300 people attending the event, including members of MountainStar Sports Group, the ownership group of the El Paso Pacific Coast League team, Pat O'Conner, president and CEO of Minor League Baseball, and City Representatives Ann Morgan Lilly, Susie Byrd, Cortney Niland, and Steve Ortega.
On March 5, 2014, it was announced that the team had signed a 20-year naming rights deal for the ballpark with Southwest University, an El Paso based business and technical school known until 2012 as Southwest Career College.
In January 2017, Southwest University Park was selected as the host site for the 32nd Triple-A All-Star Game, to be played in July 2019.
The design theme is based on the Union Depot and incorporates architectural details found in the region's historic buildings, such as the Kress Building in Downtown El Paso. It also pays tribute to the city's baseball history through various forms of art.
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