- Other names
- ECU Baseball Stadium; Harrington Field
- Built
- 2004
- Construction cost
- $10 million
- Architects
- Walter, Robbs, Callahan & Pierce
- Namesake
-
Milton E. Harrington, a Pitt Co., NC, native, received his early education in Greenville, NC. In 1927 he entered Duke University and became one of their best baseball players. After his graduation he returned to Greenville, where he managed the first Greenville team in the Coastal Plain League and was referred to as “The Father of Organized Baseball” in Greenville. He was also a prominent local businessman, and became president and chairman of the board of Liggett and Myers Tobacco Company.
William H. Clark family of Greenville, which committed the lead gift of $1.5 million in support of the facility project. Clark, a long-time supporter of East Carolina Athletics and the Pirate Club, is a real estate developer who owns Bill Clark Homes of Greenville and residential communities in Raleigh, Wilmington and Myrtle Beach. He and wife Gloria are the parents of sons Hunter, Lance and Heath a former baseball player at ECU. “One of the reasons why I wanted to support this project was to get Keith’s name on the stadium as it should be,” Clark said. “I’m not sure one person has done as much for one individual sport as Keith has for our baseball program. I wanted there to be a legacy for Keith at ECU, something which would qualify the character that he has. “This (stadium) will be a giant step in realizing Keith’s dream of the Pirates going to Omaha,” Clark added. “It’s a great advantage to host regionals and super regionals in your own park. Obviously, there’s a much better chance to win those tournaments at home and be in a position to go on to Omaha.”
Keith LeClair, former Pirates’ head coach, who guided ECU from 1997 to 2002 before beginning his battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. LeClair played an integral role in the push for a new, state-of-the-art baseball stadium on the East Carolina campus, which began in earnest with a fund-raising campaign plan in 2001. “My family and I are honored and overwhelmed to have our name next to Bill Clark’s family on the new stadium,” said LeClair. “They have been so generous to our family the past three years during this difficult time in our lives and we sincerely appreciate all that they have done. “I truly hope that when people see the LeClair name on the stadium, that it represents all ECU coaches and players of the past and present and all the great tradition this baseball program was built on. I am truly honored and blessed for this opportunity and I want to thank all the supporters that made this dream of building a stadium a reality.” - History
- Harrington Field was located southwest of Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium and was dedicated on May 9, 1971. It was also renovated in 1971 at the cost of $100,000 raised by the East Carolina University Foundation. In 2004, the field was replaced by the 3,000 seat Clark-LeClair Stadium. The new seating bowl contains bleacher and individual seats, a press box and upgraded areas for booster club participants. Beneath the seating bowl the facility includes offices for the coaching staff, locker, training and equipment rooms. Site work included parking for +100 cars and upgrading the surrounding area to create a new entrance and pedestrian plaza.
- Additions
-
1971 – renovated and lights added
2004 – $1.5 million renovation and construction of Clark-LeClair Stadium