Bear Stadium


Bear Stadium is a baseball venue in Conway, Arkansas, United States. It is home to the Central Arkansas Bears college baseball team of the NCAA's Division I Southland Conference. Rebuilt in 2009, the facility has a capacity of 1,000 spectators.

History

Renovations

After the Bears' 2007 move to Division I, the UCA baseball facility was rebuilt to be appropriate to the new playing level. In the offseason between 2008 and 2009, the old facility was demolished and construction on the present one began.
The newly constructed ballpark, Bear Stadium, featured 106 chairbacks, press box, wheelchair elevator, concourse, and backstop. Following the 2010 season, a GeoGreen artificial turf surface was installed and the playing surface was raised.

Events

The stadium's first game was on February 20, 2009, when Central Arkansas defeated Tennessee-Martin 11–5. In 2010, Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Goose Gossage threw out the first pitch before a Bears game against Northwestern State. In 2011, the field hosted the Arkansas high school baseball championships.

Attendance

The stadium's first game, held on February 20, 2009, attracted 517 spectators. A record 732 people attended the April 3, 2009, game against Texas State, the day of the stadium's official dedication.

Top 10 attendance marks

Below is a list of Bear Stadium's 10 best-attended games.
RankDateOpponentAttendance
1April 3, 2009Texas State732
2February 18, 2011SIU Edwardsville527
3February 20, 2009Tennessee-Martin517
4March 12, 2010Stephen F. Austin503
5February 26, 2011Eastern Illinois484
6February 20, 2011SIU Edwardsville475
7February 19, 2011SIU Edwardsville447
8February 20, 2007Arkansas State432
9April 9, 2011Texas State427
10April 8, 2011Texas State424

As of the 2011 season.