KALAMAZOO--Thanks to a $1 million challenge gift from a Chicago equity investor announced today, Western Michigan University baseball fans will settle into a comfortably renovated stadium at historic Hyames Field when they gather to watch the first pitch of the 2009 season.

Robert J. Bobb, chief executive officer of Cardinal Growth L.P. and a 1969 WMU alumnus, has committed $1 million to a planned $2 million renovation of WMU's baseball stadium as a challenge gift. University officials already have raised $600,000 toward the challenge and plan a successful conclusion to the campaign, with fund-raising efforts continuing until the $2 million goal is met. To date, a number of WMU baseball alumni and supporters have been recognized for their gifts through naming opportunities within the stadium. Additional naming opportunities will be available as the campaign continues.

The structure, which will become the Robert J. Bobb Stadium, will significantly enhance the Hyames Field facilities in a way that will allow the historic site--home to the first-ever College World Series in 1947--to continue its role as athletic home to generations of WMU athletes.

Construction on the baseball stadium project will take place this summer, with completion scheduled before the start of the 2009 baseball season. The major renovations will place WMU's baseball facilities once again at the top of the Mid-American Conference and the Midwest. In addition, the project will put the stadium in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Stadium enhancements done through the privately funded renovation project will include:

• A working press box and two VIP suites
• Expanded and refurbished dugouts with protective fencing, player restroom, storage and heat
• 500 chair back seats, aluminum bench seating and new, handicap-accessible seating
• New concourse with ticket front, concessions, merchandizing front and patron restrooms
• Handicap accessible entrances and patron facilities
• Replacement of outfield fencing, the addition of foul-line fencing and a new visitor bullpen
• Entrance plaza for historical and donor recognition
• New stadium signage, decorative entrance and replacement of exterior fencing
• Repair and re-seal of existing grandstand facility
• Competition stadium lighting may also be added if additional funding is raised.

The renovation follows emergency repairs done to the field and its stadium in 2005, when a violent windstorm ripped the roof off the grandstand area and exposed many of the ballpark's pressing needs. In response, WMU committed $150,000 to replace the deteriorating roof structure and make the area safe for players and spectators. That episode spurred the current drive among alumni to restore the facility to its former status as a model venue for student athletes.

Architects Renderings:

• Field
• Bleachers
• Concessions

Computer-generated graphics

Existing conditions