University of North Carolina Athletics
Boshamer Stadium
June 21, 1999 | Baseball
April 14, 1999
Cary C. Boshamer Stadium provides the Carolina baseball program one of the most beautiful home facilities in the nation.
Boshamer Stadium, located on Ridge Road in the heart of the Carolina campus, was a gift from 1917 Carolina graduate and textile industrialist Cary C. Boshamer of Gastonia, N.C. The Tar Heels have been playing at the current location since the late 1960s when Emerson Field was razed due to University expansion. Boshamer donated the original lighting system in 1970 and the Tar Heels first home night game was played April 18, 1970 vs. Wake Forest.
Construction on the stadium began following the 1970 season and Carolina played its first game at the new park on March 21, 1972 when Carolina defeated High Point 3-2 in its season opener. Maryland's Bob Grossman pitched a no-hitter in the stadium dedication game on April 8, 1972.
The Tar Heels have hosted 758 games at Boshamer Stadium and have a record of 568-188-2 (.751), including a 27-3 mark last year. Boshamer has been home to five Atlantic Coast Conference Tournaments, in 1973, 1975, 1981, 1982 and 1983, and the 1983 NCAA East Regional.
Carolina hosted the New York Yankees in exhibition games in 1977, 1979 and 1981 and Boshamer also played host to the 1987 U.S. Olympic Festival.
For five straight years, from 1989 through 1993, the Carolina Invitational brought some of the nation's finest programs to do battle with ACC competition just prior to the NCAA Tournament. In 1989, ESPN was on hand to televise two games live from Boshamer. That year, North Carolina upended No. 1-ranked Arizona 5-3 in 10 innings.
The Tar Heels have excelled for years in games played on its home grass, and in 1993 Carolina set the school record for home victories with 30 in 39 outings. The 1990 squad posted a 29-3 ledger at home and posted the third-best home winning percentage in history (.906). The 1983 UNC team also tallied 29 wins at home, including five during the ACC Tournament, on their way to a 42-10 overall record. UNC enters the 2000 season with a 37-game non-conference winning streak at Boshamer Stadium that began with a Feb. 22, 1998, win over Seton Hall.
Boshamer Stadium dimensions are 335 feet down the left and rightfield lines, 370 to left-center, 400 to straight-away center and 362 to the power alley in right-center. The main grandstand accommodates up to 2,000 spectators and another 1,000 fans can watch from the terraced embankment along the first base line.
The stadium houses the Carolina baseball offices, team room, training room and dressing rooms. Tar Heel players take advantage of a private weight training and conditioning area which supplements the equipment found at the 8,000 square foot workout room at the Student-Athlete Development Center located at Kenan Stadium. Boshamer also has indoor pitching and hitting areas and outdoor cages which allow off the field work in all weather conditions.
The Walter Rabb Press Box, dedicated on May 8, 1987, seats up to 24 members of the working press with separate radio/TV booths at either end of the facility.
Over the past several years, Boshamer Stadium has undergone a number of exciting renovations to keep it one of America's finest college baseball facilities. Among those things new to the stadium in 2000 are expanded dugouts, new awnings over the press box and office space, new field tarp and roller, new fencing and a new training room for the Tar Heels. Renovations will continue at Boshamer and a detailed list of all the activity going at the stadium is found in the inset box to the left of this page.
The University of North Carolina is fortunate to call home one of the finest all-around facilities in the nation. Boshamer has it all -- outstanding playing conditions maintained by a dedicated and knowledgeable grounds crew, excellent lighting, close to the field seating and purposeful training and relaxation environments for Carolina's players and coaches.
Home of the Heels
