Drillers Prepare For Season, New Ballpark

Originally Published: Feb 15, 2010 5:17 PM CDT

Kyle Dierking
Oklahoma Sports Reporter

TULSA, Oklahoma – As the Tulsa Drillers begin to prepare for the 2010 season, the finishing touches are being put on ONEOK Field, the Drillers new downtown ballpark.

The Drillers held a media tour on Monday afternoon, showing off everything from the new clubhouse to the spacious dugouts and seating that provides a panoramic view of the downtown Tulsa skyline.

The new ballpark will not only provide new amenities for the fans, but the players. The facility includes bigger dugouts and lockers, a weight room and a team cafeteria.

“Before, they had to get up at 9:00 or 10:00 in the morning and go to a work out place to do weights. Now, they just come to the ballpark to do weights,” Gideon said. “It’s going to be so much more different because there’s so much more space.”

Gideon said the outfield dimensions include a short right field porch of about 305 feet, but overall, he expects there won’t be many home runs.

“It might look little, it might look big – I’ve got a feeling it’s going to play big of the way the wind is going to be blowing,” Gideon said. “Now, who knows, with the way the weather’s been going and the way it’s been this winter, it may spin around and blow straight out.”

The Drillers inaugural game at ONEOK Field is on April 8th against Corpus Christi.

Click the box above to hear what else Gideon had to say about the Drillers first season in the new ballpark.