All Sooners

OU Softball: Love's Field on Track to be Ready by Oklahoma's Home Opener

Oklahoma Athletic Director Joe Castiglione had good news for OU softball fans ahead of the 2024 season.

Ryan Chapman

Oklahoma softball’s new palace is still on track to be ready for move-in.

The Sooners, the three-time defending national champions who debuted at No. 1 in both Softball America and D1 Softball’s preseason top 25 poll, will spend the first month of the season on the road per usual.

But by the time Patty Gasso’s team will host the OU Tournament March 1-3, Love’s Field will be ready.

“(The construction team has) a March 1 functional occupancy deadline that everyone knows because that's the first official game that will be played Love’s Field,” Oklahoma Athletic Director Joe Castiglione said after a Board of Regents meeting last Friday. “… They were out there putting in seats (last Thursday), the scoreboards going in. Some of this you can see from the street as you drive by, but it's really exciting and talking with Coach Gasso and I saw some of the players yesterday.

“They were talking to them about it and I talked to many of our donors, most notably the Love family, and yeah, just everybody's excitement for the opening day is sky high.”

Love’s Field will hold over 4,000 fans at its maximum capacity for the Sooners.

The fixed seating capacity will be 3,543 fans with space to pack in an additional 657 standing room spots, OU announced last September. The entire complex will span 44,000 square feet, an outstanding commitment to the program.

Players were taken on a tour of the initial project last fall, allowing the team to begin to imagine just what game day will look like in the new stadium this spring.

“Definitely eyes a little bit wide,” catcher Kinzie Hansen said last October. “… (We were) walking through just kind of in awe a little bit and just feeling super grateful that we’re a part of the legacy here because the past four years have been tremendous for our sport and being able to grow the game here in really this softball state has been something that we’re super grateful to be a part of.”

Second baseman Tiare Jennings couldn’t wait to start playing at Love’s Field.

“There were times when I was speechless,” she said, “because I was trying to picture everything. And I’m just super excited and super thankful that I’ll be able to get to be in it for my last year. But it is amazing. There’s nothing there yet and I’m wowed.”

While Oklahoma fans will have to wait until March to see the Sooners take the field in Norman, the 2024 season is right around the corner.

OU will open up the year in Mexico at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, first taking on Utah Valley at 10:30 a.m. on Feb. 8.

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Ryan Chapman
RYAN CHAPMAN

Ryan is deputy editor at AllSooners and covers a number of sports in and around Norman and Oklahoma City. Working both as a journalist and a sports talk radio host, Ryan has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the United States Men’s National Soccer Team, the Oklahoma City Energy and more. Since 2019, Ryan has simultaneously pursued a career as both a writer and a sports talk radio host, working for the Flagship for Oklahoma sports, 107.7 The Franchise, as well as AllSooners.com. Ryan serves as a contributor to The Franchise’s website, TheFranchiseOK.com, which was recognized as having the “Best Website” in 2022 by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters. Ryan holds an associate’s degree in Journalism from Oklahoma City Community College in Oklahoma City, OK. 

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