Workman Family Baseball Field

The Workman Family Baseball Field is the new on-campus home of the Big Blue Baseball program and officially opened on September 27, 2019.

The new baseball facility located south of the Decatur Indoor Sports Center (DISC) includes an all-artificial turf field, lights, press box, concessions and batting cages. The grandstand has seating capacity for 459 spectators. Seating includes bleachers, seat back chairs and a patio area, all elevated above the playing field. Millikin University will be the only school in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) with an on-campus baseball-only facility with a full turf field and a clubhouse.

The Workman Family Baseball field has in-ground dugouts with Millikin's dugout on the third base side with batting cages and bullpen access nearby. The visitor's dugout is on the first base side and also includes access to a bullpen. The new clubhouse is located below the grandstand.

The press box has the capacity for six media professionals, and houses controls for the lights and inning-by-inning scoreboard overlooking the right-center field fence.

The $5.4 million baseball field project was made possible by a generous $4 million contribution from Millikin Emeritus Trustee Gary Workman, a 1965 graduate, his wife, Judy, and their family, as well as generous gifts from Millikin Emeriti Trustees Mark and Bob Staley, Millikin Trustee Tom Harrington '70 and his wife, Cordia, and the estate of Millikin Emeritus Trustee Frank Tyrolt.

Pets are not allowed at the Workman Family Baseball Field with the exception of registered service animals.

Workman Family Baseball Field Features and Additional Facts

- The outfield is designed for multi-use and can accommodate a 300' long practice soccer field and a 270'-0" long practice football field.

- The infield has been designed and the field has been calibrated to provide the speed of play best fitting the desired play of Millikin University baseball.

- The home dugout has been custom designed to provide an elevated coaches area allowing field and player view.

- The brick used on the Workman Family Baseball Field was selected to match and compliment existing historic brick used on Millikin University's campus.

- Electrical service for the new facility has been designed to support future ceiling mounted radiant heaters at each of the dugouts.

- Each dugout is designed with wireless internet access points to support modern internet-based technology used in baseball.

- The new field's sound system has been custom designed for sound clarity and coverage over the spectator areas.

- The grass seating area on an elevated berm has been provided along the east third base fence.

- The baseball facility is connected via fiber optic to the main central campus security and fire detection/alarm systems.

- The field's sports field lighting system has been designed for energy efficiency and to minimize light spill over beyond the field and to meet the City of Decatur's regulations.

- Areas of the AstroTurf field have been designed to be removed and replaced annually at areas of high use including the pitcher's mound and the catcher's/batter's box.

- Synthetic all-weather turf and subbase is designed to drain no less than an average of 30" of rain per hour.

- The design of the new baseball facility involved close coordination with the City of Decatur, Norfolk & Southern Railroad, State of Illinois, IDOT, Ameren and the DISC.