The opening of LSU’s new Tiger Park was an event Tiger fans have been anticipating just as long as the players and coaches.”It’s something we’ve been waiting for for a long time,” said Mona Ragan, who has been attending LSU softball games since the team’s inception in the 1970s.Tiger Park’s gates were opened to fans Wednesday night when LSU played its first home game of the season against McNeese State. The game drew 2,172 fans to the inauguration of the new stadium.  “This is actually my first game, but it looks like they have a pretty good product of the field,” said Delvin Jones, sports management graduate student. “They’re probably a little motivated now that they have this nice stadium and everything.”The crowd was the second largest in Tiger Park history, trailing the total of 2,326 on April 28, 2007, when LSU played Tennessee in the old Tiger Park.The softball team had its highest attendance figures in the old Tiger Park’s 12-year history in 2008, when the Tigers averaged 866 fans per game.Most fans were impressed with the facilities of the new stadium.”I like that there are no bad seats,” said season ticket holder Brenda Simon. “Any place you go, you can see. The facilities are second to none.”Harmony Schwethelm, who played for Baylor from 2002 to 2006, went to support her former teammate and junior Baylor transfer Kirsten Shortridge in LSU’s victory against No. 5 Texas A&M on Saturday.Schwethelm said she was impressed with how the new park fared under poor weather conditions.”I know just by rain, this field can take a whole lot more,” Schwethelm said. “We got canceled out in a tournament my freshman year in the old stadium. From how much it’s rained in the last two days, the field looks great.”Kent Dejean, who attends eight or nine LSU softball games a year, said the new facility is “absolutely gorgeous.””It probably beats out most men’s baseball parks in the country,” Dejean said. “It’s one of the finest facilities in the country.”Ragan said the new stadium is a big step up from the old Tiger Park.”There is no comparison,” Ragan said. “It’s like playing in a sandlot park and then coming and playing in a major league park.”Jones said the new stadium could benefit the team in the future.”It’s something good to brag on and get some recruits here,” he said.Very few fans could find anything they disliked about the new Tiger Park.”The only thing I dislike is I used to live over at the Fieldhouse Condominiums, and I used to be able to walk to the games,” Dejean said.Simon said she hasn’t gotten used to the orientation of the new stadium yet because she was used to sitting behind the plate in the old Tiger Park, where the seating is elevated above the field.”The only thing is, I’m having trouble with the net…looking through it,” Simon said.The Tigers averaged 996 fans per game in their opening weekend at the new Tiger Park.The team averaged 655 and 789 fans, respectively, in the team’s past two opening weekend Easton Tiger Classic tournaments.
 
 
 
—-Contact Jarred LeBlanc at [email protected]