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George C. Page Stadium
Now in its 24th season as the home of Lion baseball, George C. Page Stadium has established itself as a tough place for opponents. With the Mikos Blue Monster and the addition of Pride Park, Page Stadium continues to stake its claim as one of college baseball's most unique ballparks. Thanks to a gift from Paul Mikos, a wall containing a manual scoreboard was installed in left field, complete with out of town scores reminiscent of some of Major League Baseball's classic ballparks. The Mikos Blue Monster is a replica to Boston's Fenway Park's Green Monster. The Mikos Blue Monster stands 130-feet wide and 37-feet tall. Within the wall is one of only a handful of manual score boards in all of baseball. The board itself isn't small, standing 18-feet tall and 46-feet wide. Complete with the LMU line score and other score updates, the scoreboard combines some old-time baseball charm with today's technology. The scoreboard has electronic balls, strikes and outs lights, along with electronic at-bat and hit/error identification. Every other component is tallied using 2-foot square aluminum score cards slipped in behind the scoreboard manually.
Giving Page Stadium additional character is a five-foot indent connecting the Blue Monster with the existing outfield fencing, similar to the odd outfield shapes of the classic Fenway Park in Boston and Minute Maid Park in Houston. Since 1997, when Frank Cruz was hired as head coach of the Lions' baseball program, LMU has established an 147-105 record at Page, a winning percentage of 58 percent. The Lions' have posted a 392-261-2 record (.600) overall in the park's 23 seasons. Some of the best years have come in the five conference titles the Lions have won while calling Page Stadium home. The first Page Stadium conference title came in 1986, when the Lions posted a 24-8 record at home. The best record came in 1988, when LMU was 30-4 at home (88 percent). In the years the Lions have won conference crowns, they are 168-55 at Page (75 percent). Since going to a Championship tournament format in 1999, four of the West Coast Conference Championships have been played at Page Stadium with the Lions winning two conference crowns over Pepperdine.
The stadium, built at the site of LMU's old baseball field, was completed at a cost of more than $250,000 with the Incentive Aid Foundation of Los Angeles providing the majority of the funding. Boasting grandstand seating for more than 600 people, the facility features a "VIP" section with 200 theater-type seats. The remaining 400 seats are aluminum with backrests and are located along the first base and third base lines. Field accommodations include spacious field-level dugouts and bullpens, a double batting tunnel, windscreen around the perimeter of the field, and grandstand. A picnic area, located down the first base line, was added prior to the 1996 season.
The backstop has been modified to enhance spectator viewing of the action on the field. The press box, fully equipped to meet the needs of all media, is located behind the "VIP" seating. A convenient concession stand is located near the north entrance of the stadium. In the summer of 2004, Cruz spearheaded the construction of Pride Park, the stadium's new entrance. The park, resembling a scaled-down baseball infield, recognizes alumi and friends of LMU baseball and provides fans with a gathering point for athletic events at LMU.
Page Stadium has been the site of filming for numerous commercials as well as feature films. It served as the site for the baseball scenes in the hit movie "My Blue Heaven" starring Steve Martin. It is also home to many camps, clinics, Little League and prep all-star games. The facility, which has also been used for outdoor community cultural shows and events, is named in honor of George C. Page, president of the Incentive Aid Foundation. Assisting Mr. Page and IAF in the stadium's completion was Maynard Kambak, father of LMU baseball alumnus Jeff Kambak. LMU's historic first game in Page Stadium was played on March 19, 1983 with a 5-1 loss to Cal State Fullerton.
Lions at Page Stadium
- GO LIONS - Update: December 5, 2005 |
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