Murray State University Athletics
Phase One of Johnny Reagan Field Renovation Complete
3/30/2026 9:39:00 AM | Baseball, General
Racers to play first games inside renovated ballpark on April 2-4 against Belmont
The student-athlete and fan experience at Johnny Reagan Field has received a transformational upgrade for the 2026 season with the installation of new turf, a new scoreboard, The Murray Bank videoboard in right field and other significant upgrades at the home of Racer Baseball.
These donor-funded projects will see game action for the first time on April 2-4, 2026, when the Racers host a three-game series against Belmont. Game times are set for 5 p.m., 5 p.m. and 1 p.m.
"We are excited for the continued progress at Johnny Reagan Field and are grateful for those who have made this project possible,"Â Murray State University President Dr. Ron Patterson said. "We are looking forward to the 2026 home opener on Thursday, April 2, to see all of these great projects displayed for our student-athletes, alumni and fans."
"We are making a tremendous amount of progress by revamping the facility profile of Johnny Reagan Field to make it one of the best in the Missouri Valley Conference," Director of Athletics Nico Yantko said. "We continue to prioritize fan experience and revenue generation in all of our facilities, and the completion of the first phase of this project will have a major impact on our baseball program as we look towards hosting the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in May."
The first round of projects at Johnny Reagan Field that were completed included the updated scoreboard, a brand-new outfield wall with new branding, and new drainage throughout the outfield playing surface.
"Everyone in our program is incredibly grateful to Director of Athletics Nico Yantko, University President Dr. Ron Patterson and all of our baseball donors and alumni for helping make this project possible," Head Coach Dan Skirka said. "These enhancements around the ballpark will be instrumental in our player development programming and will give us another crucial leg up on the recruiting trail."
Recently, the department finished out phase one of the facility renovation by completing the installation of The Murray Bank Videoboard in right field and FieldTurf within in the infield of the facility.
THE MURRAY BANK VIDEOBOARD
Sitting at 20-foot-by-40-foot and featuring a 10-millimeter pixel pitch, the donor-funded board will be the largest in the Missouri Valley Conference and matches many videoboards recently installed at P4 ballparks around the country.
The videoboard will have the ability to showcase static graphics, animations, live video, stat integration, and Trackman data, while allowing the department to host future movie nights at Johnny Reagan Field.
FIELDTURF
The FieldTurf field will feature the DoublePlay system and include a custom Murray State logo behind home plate.
"We're incredibly excited to expand our relationship with Murray State University and the Racers athletics department. Murray State is the latest among a long list of elite college baseball programs to entrust the FieldTurf DoublePlay system on its home field," said JC Field, National Baseball Development Manager at FieldTurf. "As the surface of choice at Roy Stewart Stadium for nearly two decades, we look forward to extending our presence on campus to Johnny Reagan Field."
The next phase of the massive facility overhaul will be the recently announced construction of the Jim & Sue Cash Baseball Clubhouse, a more than 3,000-square foot baseball facility that features a new locker room, player lounge, team meeting room, and training room right behind the right field wall at Johnny Reagan Field.
While Murray State remains laser focused on competitive excellence during the golden era of Racer Athletics, the department will embark on a bold, comprehensive $100 million fundraising campaign, Leading The Pack, to further position itself for the future by investing in student-athlete success and wellness, revenue share and competitive resources and world-class facilities.
Learn more about how you can support the campaign by clicking HERE.
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