PROVO — At the controls of a backhoe, Utah Jazz owner Larry H. Miller dug up swatches of grass behind home plate at Cougar Field on Saturday afternoon.
Gripping custom-made shovels with handles made from baseball bat barrels, BYU administrators, key donors and other dignitaries stood poised to usher in a new era for the BYU baseball and softball programs.
As part of groundbreaking ceremonies prior to the baseball team's home finale against New Mexico, Miller and other shovel-toters turned over scoops of dirt, helping commemorate upcoming construction on his namesake — Miller Park, a state-of-the-art baseball and softball complex slated to be completed in 2001.
"This is a historic day in BYU athletics," men's athletic director Val Hale told the 1,100 fans who were in attendance. "The next time we convene here in March, you'll be in fan-friendly seats in a fan-friendly park . . . We hope that when we build it, you will come."
Miller Park will be home to a baseball diamond named Larry H. Miller Field, and a softball field named Gail Miller Field, in tribute to Larry's wife. Each field will have about 2,000 seats.
Miller Park will also have lights for nighttime play and a tensile roof made of Teflon fabric held by cables that will cover part of the seating area. Because the price tag for the complex is $7 million, building it wouldn't have been possible without significant contributions from the Millers, as well as Sy and Betty Kimball.
The Kimballs, California residents who frequently attend BYU sporting events, are longtime Cougar fans. Neither the Millers nor Kimballs would divulge how much money they contributed to the project.
Sy Kimball's first thoughts about building a new baseball stadium came in 1981, when he originally pledged to help with the endeavor.
"It almost got to the point that we could have built this 20 years ago," he said. "It took a long time for this to happen,"
Not until it decided to add women's softball to the athletic department did the school seriously look into building a stadium to replace the antiquated Cougar Field. Phase one of the project began last winter, when the outfield fences were extended from 390 feet to 400 feet in center field, and from 365 to 385 in the power alleys.
"This facility had become a liability in terms of recruiting," Hale said. "Moving the fences back was the first step in attracting good pitchers here. And we want to make this a great baseball environment, similar to what Cougar Stadium is for football. We're making a major investment in baseball and softball."
Softball enthusiasts Larry and Gail Miller were first approached by BYU a decade or so ago about contributing to the construction of a new baseball stadium. Larry Miller said that he wasn't in the financial position to do so, but committed to help in the future.
Then, last December, BYU President Merrill J. Bateman set up a meeting with Miller, asking if he and his wife would consider donating to the baseball/softball project. Miller told him he would mull it over.
"I sent him a letter a week later and told him I could not do it," Miller said. "But it stayed on my mind the next couple of weeks. I called President Bateman back and told him, 'Do you have any problem if Gail and I reverse our position?' For about 10 seconds, there was dead air on the other end of the phone. Then he said, 'You made my week. Maybe my year.' "
Gail Miller said she liked the idea of donating to the facility all along.
"I didn't have any qualms about contributing, but I didn't say anything to Larry," she said. "It must have eaten at him. We're pleased to do it. It's not our money, it's a stewardship."
"Softball has always had a soft place in my heart," said Larry Miller, a former fast-pitch softball pitcher who is a member of the International Softball Congress Hall of Fame. "I'm excited about what this facility will bring to the university as a recruiting tool and what it will bring for the fans. Having the stands full helps a team perform at a higher level. The neat thing about this is everybody wins."
It wasn't the Millers' idea to have their name attached to the complex. "We don't like that type of limelight," Gail said. "But the school had already decided that was what the name was going to be. It is quite an honor."
BYU has played its baseball games at Cougar Field since 1969. Official construction on Miller Park will begin May 22, Hale said. Among those who also participated in the groundbreaking ceremonies included BYU Advancement Vice President Fred Skousen and former Major League Baseball player and Cougar standout Dane Iorg.