Making a pitch

OU proposes a plan for a new softball facility.

For the last 20 years, Patty Gasso constructed a powerhouse softball program from the Sooners' headquarters at Marita Hynes Field.

But the Oklahoma head coach may have some new digs in the near future.

A proposal for the construction of a new softball facility is up for approval at the Oklahoma Board of Regents Meeting next week.

The proposal was included in the meeting agenda released Thursday.

After further examining the space around the existing structure and adjacent areas, OU determined it made more sense to construct a new facility rather than update the existing for a third time since it opened in 1998. The OU Softball Complex was also renovated in 2002 and 2010.

"Through investigation of the spatial requirements for expansion, adjacent site limitations, and the potential for adjacent future improvements, it was determined that the long-range vision for the existing facility was not best

served investing further in the current location,” the proposal read. “After careful study and deliberation via incremental master plan contemplation, the athletic administration has identified the benefits of constructing a new Softball Facility.”

Prior to the new proposal, there was a plan to renovate the existing stadium. That plan, along with one to update baseball’s L. Dale Mitchell Park, was announced in May 2017. In the first plan, the seating bowl was going to add 929 seats to increase the infield seating capacity to 1,406. With the outfield bleachers, the total capacity of the renovated stadium would be 2,566.

The Sooners frequently played in front of sold out crowds during the 2018 season, selling out all but two of its Big 12 games in advance. The demand was so high that OU added its temporary outfield seating — usually installed for the end of Big 12 play — before the season even started.

The location for the proposed facility is the vacant land at the corner of South Jenkins Avenue and Imhoff Road, putting it east of the Sam Veirsen Gymnastics Center and across from the Lloyd Noble parking lot.

“This location would allow enough space for implementation of the required programmatic facility elements, would potentially make further use of adjacent Athletics facilities, and would also take advantage of existing parking in the immediate vicinity,” the proposal read.

The total estimated budget for the new stadium is $22 million, which is $7 million more than the estimated total budget for the renovations to Marita Hynes Field.

Hanson given $45,000 raise

While specific raises for most of Oklahoma’s football staff won’t be revealed until Tuesday’s Board of Regents meeting, the boost to the salary of one member of Lincoln Riley’s staff is already known.

Annie Hanson, OU’s executive director of recruiting, is getting a $45,000 raise after one year on the job. Her salary will go from $70,000 to $115,000 annually. According to the notes in the Board of Regents agenda, Hanson’s raise was given on merit and due to an increase in responsibilities.

Riley and the coaching staff frequently praised Hanson’s work throughout her first year with the Sooners.

“She’s 100 percent going all day long,” Cale Gundy said in December. “A lot of energy. A lot of enthusiasm. She is tremendous with the family and with the parents. She just does a tremendous job. She’s got great knowledge. She has obviously been to a couple places now and she has learned. She is somebody who has reached out and worked in other programs and found out what is going on.

“She is somebody who is looking to do things different. That’s what you got to do in this. It’s all about impressing these young men and families as well as having a good product on the field.”

While Hanson’s raise is known, most other coaches and athletic department employees, including Riley, will have to wait a bit longer for theirs to be revealed.

Riley, who took the Sooners to the Rose Bowl and made $3.1 million in his first year as Oklahoma’s head coach, is currently set to make about $3.8 million this year thanks to a $500,000 annual stay benefit that kicks in each June and a $200,000 annual raise.