Baseball, Softball Programs Officially Breaks Ground For New Stadiums

The Texas Southern Department of Athletics officially broke ground Thursday morning on its new Baseball and Softball Stadiums.
 
Both facilities will be located on the corner of Cleburne and Sampson Streets which is across from the TSU East Garage and on the current site of the Yates High School Baseball/Softball Fields as the university partnered with Houston ISD to help secure the site.
 
"This is a huge day for us at Texas Southern," said Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Kevin Granger. "We have a great partnership with the City of Houston where we currently play at (Macgregor Park/Memorial Park) but we wanted our own as it's in the footprint of our campus. This is a huge day for our campus and I'm glad that I'm a part of it.
 
"This day and time the first thing recruits look for and ask for is facilities. When you didn't have that and opposing schools do, they have a leg up. We can now level the playing field and provide our coaches with the opportunity to sign whomever they want. Thank you to the Houston Astros, most notably Jim Crane, Enos Cabell and Paula Harris for their efforts in helping with this project and Houston ISD. We wouldn't be here today without their help."
 
The softball stadium will have a capacity of 480 while the baseball stadium is slated to seat 1,080 spectators. Both stadiums will share a concession stand and will have locker room space for both programs along with press boxes and lighting for night contests. The baseball stadium will also feature VIP seating for 80 spectators as both stadiums are projected to officially open in the spring of 2026.
 
TSU head baseball coach Michael Robertson has made the daily three-mile trek to MacGregor Park for both practices and games during his 17-year tenure at Texas Southern. At times, Robertson even had to bus crosstown to the Houston Astros' Urban Youth Academy for games as this day means a lot to him.
 
"This is the first time that we'll have a place that we can call home," he said. "Our student-athletes and fans will now have a nice place to enjoy baseball and softball with all the amenities. We have the opportunity to win the arms race in terms of facilities and attract teams to campus along with having the opportunity to host future SWAC Tournaments. I want to thank the past student-athletes for the efforts in carrying on the baseball tradition at TSU as this day is about them and what they did to put us in this position. I want to thank MLB Baseball for the support and the present and past administrators at TSU for their efforts in making this day a reality."
 
Head softball coach Raven Rodriguez started her coaching career at TSU as an assistant coach before being elevated to head coach and personally knows the grind it has taken on her to keep the program competitive both on-and-off the diamond. Like the baseball team, the TSU softball team practices off-campus near Minute Maid Park and plays its games nearly eight miles away at Memorial Park.
 
"This will have a huge on the program but the community also," said Rodriguez." "We will now have a home base that represents our student-athletes and Texas Southern. Having the ability to now do the things we can do at our own time is big as this cuts down on travel.
 
"This will also impact our recruiting tremendously as we now have somewhere to show potential student-athletes where we're playing. I'm happy for our team and even our former head coach Worley Barker as he had a huge impact on the program as we've talked about this day for a long time."