Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park

Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park
Lamson Park
Lamson Park
Map
Former names
  • Lady Cajuns Park (1985-2003)
  • Ragin Cajuns Park (2003-2006)
  • Lamson Park (2006-2019)
Location235 Cajundome Blvd
Lafayette, Louisiana 70506 United States
Coordinates30°12′49″N 92°02′13″W / 30.213474°N 92.036964°W / 30.213474; -92.036964
OwnerUniversity of Louisiana at Lafayette
OperatorUL Athletics Department
Capacity2,790
Record attendance3,107
Field sizeL - 200, C - 220, R - 200[1]
Acreage2.97
SurfaceArtificial turf
Construction
Broke ground1984
Opened1985
Renovated1992, 1994, 1995, 2002, 2006, 2009-11, 2016, 2019, 2020
Tenants
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns softball (NCAA)

Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park is a ballpark located on the South Campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in Lafayette, Louisiana. Originally built in 1985, Lamson Park is the home of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette's Ragin' Cajuns softball program. When Lady Cajun's Park was built, the Softball program had no budget, no money, and no stable foundation. Now, Cajuns softball is known as a national powerhouse, year after year, and Lamson Park continues to grow.[2]

The stadium went through a $2.1 million renovation from 2009 to 2011, which included a mostly-covered grandstand between dugouts, three private luxury suites, and a 50-seat Stadium Club. Additional seating was also added beyond the outfield fence, bringing it to its current capacity of 2,790.[3]

The 2011 renovations also included a new and larger press box with three broadcast booths, a larger and more functional locker room, a technology-driven meeting room and a new scoreboard in right field that debuted in 2010. The video board from 2010 was replaced in February 2020, with a new 30-ft screen.[4]

Finally, a state-of-the-art indoor hitting facility was completed in 2016. The structure is located in the left field corner and includes a total of 12 cages, which are mounted on zip lines so that they can be retracted to open up the facility for infield drills and/or pitching instruction.

In 2019, a new artificial field turf was installed by GeoSurfaces at the commencement of the season.

Lamson Park routinely ranks in the top-ten nationally both in attendance, as well as atmosphere.[5][6] A new attendance record was established on February 15, 2020, with 3,107 in attendance to watch UL defeat LSU by a score of 2–1. The game also marked the 100th win for Coach Glasco.[7]

In terms of official seating capacity, Lamson Park is the largest softball stadium in the Sun Belt Conference and in Louisiana. In terms of overall stadium size and area it is smaller than others in Louisiana.[8]

  1. ^ "Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park - Facilities".
  2. ^ Williams, C. J. "Thirty-eight years in the making: Louisiana softball field named after its architect". The Vermilion.
  3. ^ "Lamson Park". Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns.
  4. ^ "New Videoboard Set to Debut at Lamson Park".
  5. ^ Peloquin, Steve (26 February 2019). "UL Softball Ranks In Top 5 In Attendance". SPORTS RADIO ESPN 1420.
  6. ^ "The 15 best places to watch college softball, according to the fans | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com.
  7. ^ "UL Softball Defeats Samford & LSU". 16 February 2020.
  8. ^ "Softball attendance records" (PDF). fs.ncaa.org.