TOINTON FAMILY STADIUM

One of the most visible changes to the Kansas State program over the last five years has been the complete renovation of the longtime home of the Wildcat baseball team – now called Frank Myers Field at Tointon Family Stadium in honor of Bob and Betty Tointon, the principle benefactors of the stadium improvements. The $3.1 million dollar improvement project made the nearly 50-year-old stadium not only one of the finest in the Midwest , but also in the fiercely competitive Big 12 Conference.

Officially rededicated on April 20, 2002, before the Wildcats' tilt with Texas, every facet of the stadium has been improved in the last few years, from a new playing surface with state-of-the-art drainage and irrigation systems to new home and visiting dugouts to a new chairback seating areas with capacity for over 2,000 fans. The bowl itself provides about 1,731 seats (1,631 in the actual bowl and 118 in the suites). The field features FieldTurf on the entire infield and warning track areas, with dirt on the pitcher's mound and home plate area, while the outfield features natural grass.

The new facility also has added amenities for Wildcat fans with the addition of permanent restroom and concession areas. Fans can also watch the action from one of five new club suites that not only includes the usual comforts of indoor seating, but outdoor seating in new purple chairbacks. Surrounding these new suites is a new 1,380-square-feet press facility that includes a main press box, radio booths for home and visiting radio as well as a television broadcast booth. The total square footage of the project was around 13,876 square feet.

The exterior of the stadium is lined completely with the limestone to match the exterior of many of the campus buildings, including the university's most prominent building – Anderson Hall. The limestone was donated by the Bayer Stone Company of St. Marys, Kan.

The facility, which was famous for years for its use of a manually-operated scoreboard for years, now sports a Daktronics state-of-the-art scoreboard. The 20-foot-tall by 36-foot-wide scoreboard in the right field wall provides basic statistics and features an electronic message center for additional live game and player information.

The stadium was originally dedicated on April 7, 1961, in honor of one-time baseball coach Frank Myers. A student and/or faculty member for over 50 years at Kansas State , Myers was known more for his stint as the director of intramurals from 1948 to 1962. He also served as assistant to three Kansas State athletic directors, including a 20-year stint as the assistant to the legendary Mike Ahearn. In addition to serving as head basketball coach in 1921 and 1922, Myers worked with the Wildcat baseball team for four years – one year as co-head coach with Dougal Russell in 1940 and three years as an assistant. He retired from the university in 1962 before dying at the age of 81 in 1973.

The picturesque facility is nestled southwest of Bramlage Coliseum and sits comfortably among stately pine trees that line the entire outfield wall.

JOHN A. ALLEN STRENGTH CENTER

The new 1,500 square foot John L. Allen Strength Center is located behind the first base dugout of the stadium and also houses full-time strength coach Scott Bird's office area.

Allen, chief operating officer of the Cincinnati Reds, provided the gift to equip and furnish the new baseball strength training area at Tointon Family Stadium.

The baseball-only weightroom features four Power Lift half racks for core exercises, including squat and bench lifts; two Vertimax Platforms and Plyo Press for concentration on lower body strength, explosion and quickness; a Life Fitness cable motion pulley machine which provides motion training for pitchers and hitters in a versatile set of exercises; a full set of Ivanko dumbbells; Life Fitness cardiovascular exercise machines and a wide variety and power development equipment by Speed City.

"Because of the generous contributions by John and Ann Allen, we have one of the best baseball strength training centers in the country," head strength coach Scott Bird said. "By utilizing this great facility, it is my goal through consistent, intense and smart training, each player will have the opportunity to develop themselves physically to be the best player they can be."

BRANDEBERRY INDOOR PRACTICE FACILITY

K-State also has the luxury of one of the few indoor practice facilities for baseball in the nation. The Brandeberry Indoor Practice Facility allows K-State baseball to have access to two full-length batting cages, portable pitching mounds and enough space to conduct full infield and bullpen workouts.

Brandeberry provides a crucial advantage for K-State baseball, allowing constant access to practice time throughout the winter months and during occasional rainy days in the Spring. Split squad practices are also possible by using the large indoor facility.

New FieldTurf installed in 2006 gave Brandeberry a facelift, and matches the same surface found on the infield and warning track at Tointon Family Stadium.

TEAM ROOM AND LOCKER ROOM

Players enjoy the newly renovated 3,150-square-feet locker room complete with 33 custom-built wood lockers, bathrooms and full shower facilities.

The player's team room includes new leather couches, a 55-inch plasma TV, study tables and computers. Inside the clubhouse, a new Ping-Pong table was added for players to enjoy when not concentrating on baseball or academics.

The coaches now have new, spacious offices inside the stadium complete with a conference room and lobby area as well as a coaches' locker room.