 With the old scoreboard in 2011 | |
 | |
| Location | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34°3′33.1″N 118°27′33.5″W / 34.059194°N 118.459306°W |
| Capacity | 1,820 |
| Field size | Left Field – 330 ft (101 m) Left-Center – 365 ft (111 m) Center Field – 390 ft (119 m) Right-Center – 365 ft (111 m) Right Field – 330 ft (101 m) |
| Surface | Natural grass |
| Opened | 1981 |
| Tenants | |
| UCLA Bruins baseball (NCAA) (1981–present) | |
Jackie Robinson Stadium is a college baseball park in Los Angeles, California. It is the home field of the UCLA Bruins of the Big Ten Conference. Opened 43 years ago in 1981, it is the smallest ballpark in the conference, with a seating capacity of 1,820.[1] It is named after former Bruin athlete Jackie Robinson, the first African-American major league baseball player of the modern era.
Robinson (1919–1972) attended UCLA from 1939 to 1941, after graduating from Pasadena Junior College. He was the first UCLA athlete to earn varsity letters in four sports: baseball, basketball, football, and track. He played in the major leagues for ten seasons (1947–56), all with the Brooklyn Dodgers. A statue and a mural of Robinson can be found at the entrance concourse of the stadium.
The venue is located about one mile (1.6 km) southwest of campus, just west of the San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405), on the grounds of the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center. Robinson's classmate, Hoyt Pardee (UCLA '41), gave a gift to help with its construction.
The stadium's "Steele Field" was dedicated in honor of the Steele Foundation on May 3, 2008, prior to a game against Arizona State, for its support of the stadium. The hitting facility at the stadium is named Jack and Rhodine Gifford Hitting Facility.[2] Gifford played baseball at UCLA and graduated from its engineering school with a BSEE degree. He was a founder of Advanced Micro Devices and Maxim Integrated Products.
In 2010, a capacity crowd of 2,613 saw the Bruins defeat the defending national champion LSU Tigers 6–3 at the Los Angeles Regional of the NCAA tournament on June 5. That season, the Bruins ranked 48th among Division I baseball programs in attendance, averaging 1,178 per home game.[3] The ballpark's record attendance of 2,914 was set in 1997, against rival USC on March 23.[4]
The diamond is aligned nearly true north (north by east, home plate to center field) at an approximate elevation of 360 feet (110 m) above sea level.
The stadium is not to be confused with the Jackie Robinson Memorial Field (dedicated on January 30, 1988) at Brookside Park in Pasadena, next to the Rose Bowl, where UCLA plays its home football games.[5]
- ^ "UCLA Baseball to Install Additional Seats at Jackie Robinson Stadium". UCLA Bruins. UCLA Athletic Department. October 18, 2011. Archived from the original on 2012-11-19. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
- ^ Former UCLA Baseball Player Jack Gifford Passes Away Archived April 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, UCLABruins.com, January 16, 2009
- ^ Brian Foley (January 6, 2011). "2010 NCAA Baseball Attendance Leaders". Archived from the original on 2011-05-27. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
- ^ Bauer Pitches No. 1-Seed UCLA Past No. 2-Seed LSU, 6-3, in NCAA Regionals Archived 2012-04-05 at the Wayback Machine, UCLABruins.com, June 5, 2010
- ^ Rose Bowl Stadium Overview Map Archived 2009-12-29 at the Wayback Machine, Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association