Architects give first look at new Marble Falls ISD baseball park

CAPTION: The new baseball park at Marble Falls High School from the sky. Graphic courtesy of Pfluger and Marble Falls Independent School District

The Marble Falls Independent School District Board of Trustees got its first look at the new baseball park that will be built at Marble Falls High School during its regular meeting Sept. 15.

Athletic director Keri Timmerman noted what was presented Sept. 15 is the culmination of several meetings and conversations with numerous individuals including baseball head coach Tyler Porter, Dr. Jeff Gasaway, Marble Falls ISD superintendent, and Assistant Superintendent Stan Whittle.

“I think it’s been really fun and people will be really excited at what they see,” Timmerman said. “Having all parties invested with Dr. Gasaway really being hands-on on it, making sure all the right people are a part of those conversations. Coach Porter, Stan Whittle, who is over athletics. Me being a part of it and seeing the development of something, seeing where the fit’s gone and trying to be wise about what we do and how we do it.”

The ball park will be built behind the scoreboard of Mustang Stadium where the shot put pit is currently located. Fans will share the existing parking lot, which is the known as the visitors parking lot during Friday night home football games, with tennis and softball. Additional striping resembling the 50-yard line of a football field and other numbers will be painted on the parking lot so band members have a place to march.

The new ball park will have covered seating for 350 fans. A running Mustang will be painted in the grassy area behind home plate. Batting cages and the home bullpen are on the left side as well as the clubhouse that includes men’s, women’s and family restrooms. The concession area will have items fans are accustomed to enjoying during ball games and a concession storage room.

The visitor’s dugout and bullpen are on the right. The scoreboard will be built behind right field.

The clubhouse also is similar to what the Mustangs already have with several upgrades. Top of the list are the varsity and junior varsity locker rooms with a shared restroom. Players will walk into a corridor to go to their respective locker room. The corridor includes a training area that has an ice machine, washer and dryer and other amenities.

Senior Project Manager Tavo Reyes, Project Designer Zhun Jiao, Assistant Project Manager Anne King and Lead Designer Scott Smith all of Pfluger Associates noted the corridor will be “a great place to display trophies and spotlight athletes.”

A coaches office is between the two locker rooms. The varsity locker room can accommodate 20 players, while the junior varsity will accommodate 40. There’s also a storage area for various ball park items.

The best part for the Mustangs is that there’s an entrance that leads directly to the home dugout just like they’ve enjoyed for the last three decades at Scearce Baseball Field.

“It’ll have a pretty nice college feel,” King said.

The location of the ball park will allow use of the existing visitor’s ticket booth located at Mustang Stadium.

Retention ponds will be built near the baseball and softball parks to allow rain water to drain off each field.

Reyes and Gasaway noted that the goal is to have the field and netting finished in time for the 2026 baseball season. Other amenities will be constructed at a later date. Fans can bring lawn chairs to cheer on the teams.

The goal is to use the same turf company for the new baseball park, the new multipurpose center, and at Scearce Softball Field, Reyes said.

He added that it doesn’t take long to install artificial turf. That’s why the goal is to have the turf at the softball field installed in early January and at the baseball park by the end of January in time for the opening of their seasons.

Whittle said the group took its first tour of the baseball and softball parks and other facilities June 2. They’ve met four times.

Reyes said that American Contractors “s looking for subcontractors” and the board will be presented with a guaranteed maximum price during the Oct. 20 meeting. Marble Falls ISD officials have encouraged local construction companies to apply to build the numerous projects associated with the 2025, which voters passed in May.

Timmerman said the shot put pit will be relocated “on another side of the field that we don’t currently use.  So we’ll flip that field to what’s available for us.”

As he thought back through meetings, the athletic director noted the individuals who have been in on the design and feel of this facility want to ensure it meets the needs of the program for a long time.

“We’re really being mindful of how we build so that it outlasts whoever’s in this chair,” he said. “He doesn’t look back and go, ‘Man, I really wish they had done that.’ We’ve tried to play that out as much as we could and say where does this facility needs to be in 15 years where we feel like it’s not having to be renovated or not having to be adjusted or not changed. It’s still a very important part of our athletic facilities.” 

CAPTION: The clubhouse at the new Marble Falls Independent School District baseball park. Graphic courtesy of Pfluger and Marble Falls Independent School District