Capaha Field will receive artificial playing surface for Southeast Missouri State baseball

A successful Southeast Missouri State baseball program just got another boost.

The Cape Girardeau City Council approved an agreement between the city and Southeast Missouri State University on Monday night for upgrades to Capaha Field.

The two-time defending Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championship Redhawks, who are currently in first place in the league's standings, are expected to be playing their home games on artificial turf this time next year thanks to the agreement.

"It's really exciting for us to be able to do this," Southeast interim director of athletics Brady Barke said. "As I said, it's a project that we've needed to have, but the timing is really good given the recent success that baseball has seen. I think not only will it help from a performance standpoint in terms of the actual field, but from a recruiting standpoint, these types of things are huge selling points for that program."

The $1.84 million project will be split 50-50 between the university and the city.

The university has identified the funds for the renovation, which is planned to include laser-leveling the field, installing turf, replacing the outfield fence, adding dugout protection and reparation or replacement of the scoreboard.

The Redhawks could become the third OVC team to have a turf infield and outfield if all goes according to plan. Belmont and SIU Edwardsville each have fully turf fields, while Eastern Kentucky has a turf infield.

"That is the hope," Barke said. "We're currently doing the design work, but based on some preliminary estimates it looks like that is what we will plan to do, have both infield and outfield artificial turf."

The renovations are expected to take about three or four months and will likely begin in September or October. Barke said ideally it would be completed by Dec. 31.

"It's an exciting time for this program and just really pleased that we're making those steps to improve our program," Southeast coach Steve Bieser said.

Changes to the field had been discussed extensively due to safety and playability concerns. There are holes in the outfield and the infield is about 18 inches higher than the outfield due to the build up of clay and dirt over time as the field has been maintained, according to Barke.

"We knew we had to do something with the field and given our climate, the time that baseball season starts, it made sense for us to consider turf, and I think the reduced maintenance costs and some of those things contributed to it having a little bit deeper discussion about, 'Is turf maybe a better alternative than just redoing the field and having a natural grass field?'" Barke said.

Last season Southeast had to move its first conference series vs. EKU to SIUE due to winter weather in early March in Cape Girardeau. The Redhawks also had to move home series against Illinois State and Bradley to neutral sites last year.

"We don't have to worry about tearing up the field quite as much, especially early on," Barke said. "The drainage isn't as big of a concern. Then also we play a lot of games in February when temperatures might be just above freezing but ground temps might be right around there and you risk getting out there and really destroying the grass and the field never really taking it's proper shape, so that alleviates some of those."

Barke also expects it to be used for camps and tournaments during the summer since there's less concern for immediate wear and tear.

Southeast also has plans for an indoor hitting facility at the field, which would be privately funded.

Barke said some funds have already been raised, but it would be on hold and "certainly won't be" completed this year and there's no start date set.

The team currently has indoor batting cages at Houck Field House when weather forces practices inside, but shared that space with the softball team and gymnastics team on occasion during the winter months. They'd also practice on the turf field at Houck Stadium.

The indoor hitting facility would be built past the Redhawks' third-base dugout at Capaha where there are currently outdoor batting cages. It would also include storage space and a clubhouse/locker room area for the team.

"We're very excited about the turf. I think that's something that's definitely going to move our program ahead," Bieser said. " Â… I think it creates an advantage for our program from a practice standpoint and being able to get on our field in the winter months a lot more often until we do get an indoor [hitting facility] built."