ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Construction for the University of New Mexico baseball team’s new $2.3 million R.D. and Joan Dale Hubbard Clubhouse was approved Friday by UNM’s Board of Regents. The Hubbards donated $500,000 in 2013 to help make the clubhouse possible.
“This has been a long process, but I want to thank the Hubbards, Scott Grady and his family, our administration, Vice President for Athletics Paul Krebs, and everyone on main campus that helped this project,” UNM head coach Ray Birmingham said. “I could go on for hours thanking people because so many have helped make this possible.”
The R.D. and Joan Dale Hubbard Clubhouse will be located down the right-field line next to Lobo Field and will include locker rooms, restrooms, showers, a training room, storage and a player’s lounge. It is the latest in the renovations that have taken place at Lobo Field over the last few seasons. UNM’s home field has received lights for the first time, as well as a new playing surface, new scoreboard, new outfield fence, new dugouts and new bleachers.
“This will be the first time in the 117 years of the program that Lobo Baseball will have its own locker room with no strings attached,” Birmingham said, “and that’s a big deal.”
The Lobos’ primary locker room in recent years has been in WisePies Arena aka The Pit. However, when events such as PBR or the NMAA state basketball championships are taking place in WisePies Arena, the team is forced to vacate for days at a time. The R.D. and Joan Dale Hubbard Clubhouse will give the program a permanent place of its own.
“This is a great step forward for our baseball program,” Krebs said. “Coach Birmingham has done a tremendous job both on and off the field, and a new clubhouse will give him another tool to continue to compete for Mountain West championships and hopefully reach the College World Series.”
The R.D. and Joan Dale Hubbard Clubhouse will be entirely privately funded except for $200,000 from the state.
“It’s so cool that almost the entire clubhouse is privately funded,” Birmingham said. “The people of New Mexico, led by R.D. and Joan Dale, stepped up to make this happen. There are a lot of people involved, and I can’t thank them enough. It shows to me that the people of New Mexico care about the kids of this state.”
Below are a couple renderings of what the interior should look like. On the left is the locker room, and on the right is the player’s lounge.
