1. An aerial view of the ballpark (Copyright 2010 Google).

George Cole Field

History:

George Cole Field, more recently known as Lady’Back Yard, was the home field of the Arkansas Razorbacks baseball team from 1975-1995 and the Arkansas Lady’Back softball team from 1997-2008.

The field was built for the Razorbacks to replace Fairgrounds Park, which by then far from a collegiate baseball facility. But when the Razorbacks moved into Baum Stadium in 1996, the field was left vacant for a year before the Lady’Back softball team moved in after significant renovations, which included shortening the outfield to softball field size.

The field was named after George Cole, a former Athletic Director at the U of A. When it was used, George Cole Field boasted a 3,000 seat grandstand made up mostly of metal bleachers with about 200 chair-back seats. In addition, before natural grass was installed when the Lady’Backs began playing there, the field was completely covered with Astroturf. George Cole Field is one of only two fields in the history of the state to be completely covered with artificial turf.

The Lady’Backs used the field until 2009, when the team moved into Bogle Park because of the lack of team rooms and workout facilities at Lady’Back Yard. The field was torn down sometime during the offseason and a parking lot was built in its place.

Photo Credits:

Photo 1 is Copyright 2010 Google.