College Series Crowds Set Mark, May Outgrow Field

OMAHA, Neb. —  The 1986 College World Series drew a record 125,970 fans to Rosenblatt Stadium, and a National Collegiate Athletic Assn. official says that the ballpark might need to expand its grandstand to hold the crowds in years to come.

“We are nearing the point that the stadium is not large enough,” said Jerry Miles, NCAA director of men’s championships.

Miami defeated Texas, 10-6, last Tuesday night to win the title in front of 9,830 fans.

Rosenblatt Stadium has a capacity of 15,300, including people in the bleachers. The grandstand has room for 9,103.

“If you had more reserved seats, you would sell those very quickly,” Miles said.

“For the key nights, the box and reserved seats basically were sold out,” he said.

Those included the 8-4 Texas victory over Miami last Wednesday in front of 14,134 fans and the 12-7 Texas victory over Mississippi State on Friday in front of 13,223.

“We do have a problem with good seats,” Miles said. “For the first time, I have had more than one team complain about its allotment. Texas, Mississippi State and Arkansas feel our current allotment is too small.”

Participating teams receive 50 tickets for doubleheader days and 100 tickets for single-games days.

Terry Forsberg, city public events manager, said the long-range stadium plan calls for enlarging the grandstand to seat 14,203 and boosting capacity overall to 19,300. No date has been set for the expansion.

“Because of the cost, a bond issue will probably be required,” Forsberg said.

The College World Series is held annually in Omaha.

In the final game Tuesday, Miami took advantage of five Texas errors to beat the Longhorns. The Hurricanes jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the third inning.

“I’m sorry we didn’t play better baseball up here,” Texas Coach Cliff Gustafson said. “This team deserved to finish better than this, not in placing but in the way the final game was played.