The deep red bricks, the unbroken concrete, the immaculate field, the multitude of restrooms, the slick concourses, the state-of-the-art clubhouse, the coaches offices, the training facilities, the ultra-cool scoreboard — it took years to arrive.
But Friday morning in Norman, on the south edge of campus, in a ribbon-cutting ceremony just before Oklahoma’s 2 p.m. game with Miami (OH), it arrived with a fury.
Love’s Field is open for business.
And there’s one person at the center of the whole thing: head coach Patty Gasso.
“It's her that is represented in every part of this stadium,” said OU athletic director Joe Castiglione. “Her greatness goes way beyond statistics, or even the games that we’ve won — and there have been a whole lot that we've won under her leadership. She's taught us how to live life with a sense of purpose and meaning.
“And let's be clear, there’s great athleticism in the women that have played. There's great championship mindset. But I think more than anything, that type of influence has elevated this program to a level of greatness few ever thought was possible.”
Castiglione, OU president Joe Harroz, benefactor Jenny Love-Meyer, Gasso and team captains Kinzie Hansen and Tiare Jennings spoke to a grateful fan base, sprinkled with alumni, to formally open the nation’s greatest collegiate softball stadium.
“I can't believe it's actually built,” Harroz said. “I never thought it'd be ready this fast, right?”
Harroz also expressed gratitude for Gasso and her leadership, but also extended that to the players who have come through the program to elevate what excellence looks like.
“We're the ones that are supposed to teach the students how to be how to live, how to grow,” he said. “But every year, the softball teams that Patty Gasso put out there … they teach us. We learn from you, and we are beyond thankful.”
The Sooners leave behind a lifetime of memories at Marita Hynes Field — named for the former softball coach and OU administrator who hired Gasso — just up the street. Actually, with dozens of alumni nodding nearby, Gasso recalled her primordial days at OU of playing games and practicing at Reaves Park — a city of Norman facility just around the corner.
Humble beginnings, to be sure.
“We had to be off the field by 5 p.m. because slow-pitch had their league,” Gasso said. “We had to come early, clean up trash. We actually, my … second year, we hosted a (NCAA) regional at Reaves and our players could not fit in the dugout. So half the team had to sit in the front of the grandstands with the fans.
“We are blessed. We are humbled. We are grateful on this historic day in history. It's a full-circle moment for us.”
The stadium will seat 4,200 “for the fire marshal,” Castiglione said, and opens at a price tag of nearly $48 million. Castiglione said the Love’s family’s original gift of $9 million kicked down the door for additional donors to jump on board.
“Their gift inspired others,” he said.
More than 1,100 total donors from 38 states “have stepped up,” Castiglione said, including 337 who have donated more than $10,000. Almost $38 million have been invested so far, he said.
“Thank you is insufficient,” Castiglione said.
“Thank you all who donated to this project,” said Gasso. “We could not have done it without you.”
Gasso’s current team is 14-0 and ranked No. 1, again. The Sooners are riding an all-time college softball record 67-game winning streak going into the OU Tournament and have won three consecutive national championships — that’s seven total for Gasso.
Now imagine what’s possible playing in what she called “the largest, most beautiful stadium, with over (4,000)-plus capacity, and this coolest representation of scoreboard for the state of Oklahoma you've ever seen.
“And this future is here. It's leading us into the SEC. And I think I can look at these guys and say we're ready to win more championships in our new conference.”
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