Melching Field at Conrad Park
Encyclopedia
Melching Field at Conrad Park is a baseball
stadium located in DeLand, Florida
. The primary tenant of Melching Field is the Stetson University
Hatters college baseball team, a Division I program playing in the Atlantic Sun Conference
.
Melching Field features 2,500 chair and benchback seats, with room for approximately 500 more spectators in a grass berm area along the first base foul line. The partially covered grandstand includes a large press box with two radio broadcast booths, a television broadcast booth, a media area, and two luxury boxes. The lower section of seating between the first and third base dugouts features chair back box seats, while the upper section features bench back seating. Underneath the grandstand, fans can find a full service concession area and restrooms.
Player ameneties include home and visiting locker rooms, coaches offices and a covered batting cage area. The field itself features natural grass and symmetrical outfield dimensions. An electronic scoreboard is located beyond the left field fence.
The ballpark is named for R. Dale Melching, a Stetson alumnus and donor. Prior to the ballpark's opening in 1999, the previous home of the Stetson Hatters baseball team, Conrad Park, was located on the same site, with home plate then located where center field now exists in Melching Field. Conrad Park was the home of spring training
games during the 1940s and 1950s as well as the home of the DeLand Red Hats of the Florida State League
.
Melching Field opened on February 12, 1999, where a crowd of 2,874 saw the Stetson Hatters defeat the University of Louisville
4-3. Since that time, over 250,000 fans have witnessed Hatters baseball at Melching Field, including 49,200 fans in 2005 (which was the 32nd highest attendance in all of NCAA baseball, despite the fact Stetson is a smaller school of less than 3,000 undergraduates.)
Besides Hatters baseball, Melching Field has also hosted several Atlantic Sun Conference
baseball tournaments, high school and amateur tournaments, and several Daytona Cubs
games in 2004 after the Cubs home ballpark, Jackie Robinson Ballpark was damaged in Hurricane Charley
. Also, beginning in 2009, the field has hosted home games of the DeLand Suns, a collegiate summer baseball team and member of the Florida Collegiate Summer League
.
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
stadium located in DeLand, Florida
DeLand, Florida
DeLand is the county seat of Volusia County, Florida. In 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population to be 24,375. It is part of the Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 436,575 in 2006...
. The primary tenant of Melching Field is the Stetson University
Stetson University
Stetson University is a private university with four colleges and schools located across the I-4 corridor in Central Florida. The primary undergraduate campus is located in DeLand, Florida, USA. In the 2012 U.S...
Hatters college baseball team, a Division I program playing in the Atlantic Sun Conference
Atlantic Sun Conference
The Atlantic Sun Conference is a college athletic conference operating in the Southeastern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I; it does not sponsor football. The conference was established in 1978 as the Trans America Athletic Conference...
.
Melching Field features 2,500 chair and benchback seats, with room for approximately 500 more spectators in a grass berm area along the first base foul line. The partially covered grandstand includes a large press box with two radio broadcast booths, a television broadcast booth, a media area, and two luxury boxes. The lower section of seating between the first and third base dugouts features chair back box seats, while the upper section features bench back seating. Underneath the grandstand, fans can find a full service concession area and restrooms.
Player ameneties include home and visiting locker rooms, coaches offices and a covered batting cage area. The field itself features natural grass and symmetrical outfield dimensions. An electronic scoreboard is located beyond the left field fence.
The ballpark is named for R. Dale Melching, a Stetson alumnus and donor. Prior to the ballpark's opening in 1999, the previous home of the Stetson Hatters baseball team, Conrad Park, was located on the same site, with home plate then located where center field now exists in Melching Field. Conrad Park was the home of spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
games during the 1940s and 1950s as well as the home of the DeLand Red Hats of the Florida State League
Florida State League
The Florida State League is a Class A-Advanced minor league baseball league operating in the state of Florida. They are one of three leagues currently operating in Class A-Advanced, the third highest of six classifications of minor leagues...
.
Melching Field opened on February 12, 1999, where a crowd of 2,874 saw the Stetson Hatters defeat the University of Louisville
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
4-3. Since that time, over 250,000 fans have witnessed Hatters baseball at Melching Field, including 49,200 fans in 2005 (which was the 32nd highest attendance in all of NCAA baseball, despite the fact Stetson is a smaller school of less than 3,000 undergraduates.)
Besides Hatters baseball, Melching Field has also hosted several Atlantic Sun Conference
Atlantic Sun Conference
The Atlantic Sun Conference is a college athletic conference operating in the Southeastern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I; it does not sponsor football. The conference was established in 1978 as the Trans America Athletic Conference...
baseball tournaments, high school and amateur tournaments, and several Daytona Cubs
Daytona Cubs
The Daytona Cubs are a minor league baseball team based in Daytona Beach, Florida. The team plays in the Florida State League , and is the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs major league club. The Cubs play at Jackie Robinson Ballpark; opened in 1914, the park seats 5,100 fans.The...
games in 2004 after the Cubs home ballpark, Jackie Robinson Ballpark was damaged in Hurricane Charley
Hurricane Charley
Hurricane Charley was the third named storm, the second hurricane, and the second major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. Charley lasted from August 9 to August 15, and at its peak intensity it attained 150 mph winds, making it a strong Category 4 hurricane on the...
. Also, beginning in 2009, the field has hosted home games of the DeLand Suns, a collegiate summer baseball team and member of the Florida Collegiate Summer League
Florida Collegiate Summer League
The Florida Collegiate Summer League is a six-team wood bat collegiate summer baseball league located in the central Florida region of the southeastern United States. The league was founded in the fall of 2003 and began play in the summer of 2004...
.