Concordia University Texas broke ground this week on a new baseball facility that is expected to be ready for use next February.

The school received $2 million in donations toward construction, including $1.5 million – the largest donation in the institution’s history – from an anonymous donor and $300,000 from former Tornado student-athlete and current Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Scott Linebrink.

The facility will seat 1,052 fans under a covered grandstand with nearly 250 chair-back seats and about 800 bleacher seats with back rests.

“The new baseball field will be one of the top facilities in NCAA Division III baseball,” said Athletics Director Dan Huntley. “The design has integrated some of the feel from our former campus facility, Keller-Faszholz Field, with the 20-foot left-field wall and the covered grandstand.

“With the addition of four batting cages (three of which are covered) and 10 pitching mounds, our program will be able to offer what other programs can only dream of. Our facility is set up ideally for practice, competition, and for running camps and clinics. The layout will definitely help in our efforts for recruiting quality student-athletes to Concordia.”

The entire field surface will be artificial, with a clay pitching mound. The 20-foot wall will taper down to eight feet beginning in left-center field. Other features include a scoreboard with video capability and above-ground dugouts.

“Everyone is excited about the new field,” said first-year Tornado coach Tommy Boggs. “We are looking forward to playing at our new campus, and the guys are excited about playing the first game on February 6.”

Concordia recently moved its campus from downtown Austin to a larger space on the northwest side of the city, thus gaining space for new athletics facilities.