After eight years in Ozark, Drury Panthers baseball is set to return to Meador Park in Springfield. Drury University committed $1.5 million in improvements to the baseball stadium.
The Springfield-Greene County Park Board approved a license agreement with Drury University on Aug. 11, setting in motion a homecoming for Panthers baseball and a facelift for the ballpark.
With $1.5 million, Drury is putting in artificial turf and a new fence, with plans for many other improvements, and committing to field Panthers baseball games at Meador for years to come.
“I'm looking forward to seeing the community be involved in the project, to see people driving down Battlefield and seeing the lights on again at Meador and coming to check out a game and then coming to see our team play, coming to see some 12-year-old kids play, being able to provide a field for teams who get rained out. Just to see the community have access to the park as well as build up the game and baseball in town,” Scott Nasby, head coach of Drury's baseball program, told the Hauxeda.
Fundraising campaign to bring Drury baseball home
Meador Park was first acquired by the Park Board in 1958 and renovated in the 1960’s, prior to the construction of the Battlefield Mall.
The park has long been known for baseball and fastpitch softball, even prior to Drury’s tenure when the university’s baseball program relaunched in 2006. Meador hosted games for independent leagues, youth baseball tournaments and other Springfield colleges, including Missouri State University.
Located at 2600 S. Fremont Ave., the 40-acre park boasts a baseball stadium, five softball fields, a swimming pool, 12 pickleball courts, a tennis court, a playground and other outdoor amenities.
When the former U.S. Baseball Park — now Sky Bacon Stadium — in Ozark underwent a $2 million renovation of its own in 2016, including a new turf field and video board, it was a “no-brainer” to move Panthers baseball south. Drury became the Ozark stadium’s primary tenant and didn’t have to raise funds to maintain it. Drury’s softball team has continued to play at Meador Park, but at the softball complex east of the baseball stadium, Thompson Field.
“It was great for the immediate future of Drury baseball to go out there and play on this great park,” Nasby said of Sky Bacon Stadium.
However, scheduling games and practices became “tougher,” and the drive to Ozark on U.S. Highway 65 continued to pose an inconvenience and a liability for athletes. Nasby emphasized that the team at Sky Bacon was great to work with, and that there were no hard feelings, but that it was time for Panthers baseball to come home.
“It's just a lot better for the program and it's a revenue creator now for us once we get this thing done,” he said.
No joke; real money
Even after all those years away, the Park Board and Drury had an ongoing partnership and continued conversations around what it would look like to bring Drury back to Meador. Nasby said it has long been a running joke to turf the field at Meador Park, but it started becoming a real possibility about two years ago, when he got the go-ahead to start raising money for the project.
“I think the long-term vision for me always was we want to be at Meador,” he said.
A fundraising campaign spearheaded by Nasby and Drury's Office of University Advancement brought this project to fruition, which was further made possible thanks to donations and community support.
“This project truly exemplified a team effort,” said Marie Muhvic, the executive vice president for University Advancement, in a press release. “Numerous respected members of our community answered the call, along with young alumni and parents making their first major contributions.”
Nasby had until May of this year to raise $1.4 million in pledges, and was able to do it thanks to donations and sponsorships large and small from alumni, Springfield sports boosters, anonymous donors and advertisers and local businesses. Nasby described John Cooper from Harry Cooper Supply and Missouri Sports Hall of Famer Bryan Magers as instrumental in helping push a stalling dollar amount to the goal.
Springfield-Greene County Director of Parks Bob Belote praised Nasby’s fundraising efforts for the “win-win” agreements between the Park Board and Drury.
“He's got a heart not just for what he does coaching Drury baseball at an extremely high level, but he's thinking about community baseball as well, and youth leagues and learn-to-play types of programs,” Belote said.
As a part of the agreement with the Park Board, Drury is getting naming rights for the ballpark, which will be called Mark Worley Field at Meador Park for at least the next 15 years, unless Drury chooses to rename it after 10, according to the license agreement.
Mark Worley, a longtime friend of Magers, was a standout athlete in both football and baseball at Glendale High School and went on to play baseball at the University of Arizona and professionally in Mexico. In addition, Worley served four years in the U.S. Army and later worked as a special educator in El Paso.
Drury will become the primary tenant of Mark Worley Field, though it will field secondary tenants. The agreement will be effective for 15 years, but may be renewed by the Park Board.
Agreement sets up long-term funding solution
While the initial $1.5 million will fund the much-needed turfing — which will make up over two-thirds of the cost — and a 12-foot fence around the stadium, among other projects, the agreement with the Park Board establishes a fund for long-term maintenance. Half of the revenue from Drury-sponsored events and advertising will be reinvested into the ballpark.
Additional planned upgrades include:
- New foul poles
- Repaired and restored scoreboard, speaker system and Wi-Fi
- Painted concessions and dugouts
- Drury signage and advertising around the park
- New dugout benches, bat racks and helmet racks
- New dugout protective fencing, netting and padding
- Portable mound and base plugs to host different age groups at different distances
- Main entrance restoration
Mid America Sports Construction, in coordination with Astroturf, has been hired for the project's construction.
Because of the Park Board’s financial commitments at the Cooper Sports Complex, which is slated for $27.4 million in improvements, Belote said it is unable to put money into reviving the ballpark at Meador. However, Belote said the Park Board will contribute toward improvements, whether providing labor or adding landscaping features or additional fencing in other areas of the park.
“Timing of this, in terms of would I like to put Parks money back into Meador, of course I would, but the timing just isn't so good because we've got this bigger project over there,” Belote said. “Having said that, we're going to help Scott out all we can, we're gonna help Drury out wherever we can[…] we’re going to put a lot of sweat equity into it, going to have our park operations team out there doing all that we can.”
While Belote is excited about the “win-win” partnership with Drury and the improvements coming to Meador’s baseball field, he cautioned that there was still money left to raise, and said he wants the Park Board to be a part of that fundraising effort.
“We want this to be a shining gem come next spring as well,” he said.
The $1.5 million is enough to bring Drury baseball back to the stadium, but additional funds are needed to make other improvements to the facility, including the bleachers. Belote said the reinvestment fund will primarily be used for maintenance, and that additional fundraising was needed for larger capital improvements.
“Drury is going to continue to raise money, continue to hit some of their donors, we're going to continue to pound on what other funding streams we might have,” Belote said.
Ultimately, Belote said it will take about $2 million to 2.5 million to “finish out Meador the way it should be.”
Bringing Drury back part of bigger picture for Meador, parks across Springfield
While Meador Park will boast one turf field in comparison to Cooper Park’s plans for 19, Belote thinks Meador’s visibility and history will provide an exciting opportunity for baseball in Springfield.
“It's kind of been an uphill battle a little bit because we've got all the incredibly cool interest over Cooper, but still, Meador is important on so many levels,” Belote said.
In addition to hosting NCAA Division-II college baseball, the agreement also provides opportunities for youth and adult baseball programs to play at an improved ballpark.
“I think people from all generations are going to be excited, not just the 8-year-olds to get a play on it, or the 18-year-olds on my team that are going to play, but the 80-year-olds who played games there and played in the Holiday Tournament 55 years ago now get to see it be brought back to life,” Nasby said.
Belote commended the Park Board’s many partner organizations, those that promote various aspects of the park system, and expressed enthusiasm for the future of the entirety of Meador Park, from the pool to the pickleball courts.
“I think now that Drury and Scott have been able to move the needle on the turf aspect and go from having a grass facility to a premier turf, I think it's going to bring a ton of interest back to Meador,” Belote said.
Even bigger picture, Belote said the improvements to the ballpark at Meador Park are a part of a wider effort to boost sports tourism in Springfield and to provide for “our own kids, our own young athletes, our own local and area families, so they get the benefit of getting to play on these fantastic facilities.”
Nasby said they are currently waiting on city permitting before they can begin moving dirt, at which point it will take about 12 to 14 weeks to complete the project. He said that they plan to play their 2024 season there, which begins in January, and is hopeful that they may even be able to end their fall season at Meador as well.
