Gov. Jim Justice announced Thursday a $13.8 million contribution to Marshall University to help fund the completion of the school's baseball stadium. 

"This has been a long time coming, and I am so proud to play a small part in getting this project across the finish line" Gov. Justice said. "They've been talking about building a baseball stadium since I was a brown-haired kid playing golf at Marshall back in the 70s. Finally, it's going to happen, and this community can get the monkey off its back."

 

Since Marshall University opened its doors in 1896, it has never had an on-campus baseball stadium to accommodate student athletes. Instead, players and teams have been displaced to various locations around the state to play games including Kennedy Center Field at the YMCA in Huntington, Appalachian Power Park in Charleston, and Epling Stadium in Beckley.

 

The new facility will be constructed on 3rd Avenue and 22nd Street next to Dot Hicks softball field and across the street from Joan C. Edwards Stadium. 

"What a great spot to build the stadium," Gov. Justice said. "You've got the softball field, football field, and basketball arena all a rocks throw away from each other. This is going to be a booming part of Huntington and bring in people from all over the country."

 

Marshall University President Brad D. Smith and Athletic Director Christian Spears touted the Governor's efforts to raise the necessary funds to complete the project.

“His heart is as big as there is,” Smith said. “He’s a son of Marshall. He loves this state. He loves this community. He loves this University, and we can never repay him. They say gratitude is a memory recorded in your heart not your mind. This memory will be in my heart the rest of my life and so will Governor Justice.”

“This is such an unbelievable gift from the Governor,” Spears said. “To have him and the state come through in the way they did for the University, I just couldn’t have imagined this day coming so quickly. I’m just so excited for the program who’s waited decades. It’s here and it’s done.”

 

The funding comes from the West Virginia Water Development Authority’s Economic Enhancement Grant program. 

The City of Huntington and Marshall University are contributing nearly $10 million to help fund the stadium, which is projected to cost approximately $23 million. 

Construction is scheduled to begin in October with completion tentatively set for March 2024.