The LSU baseball team’s season opener is less than a month away, but uncertainties still surround both the team’s roster and playing facilities.LSU coach Paul Mainieri addressed the status of two dual-sport athletes — sophomore Chad Jones and junior Jared Mitchell — during a Tuesday afternoon press conference at Walk-On’s.He said Jones is practicing with the team but has not officially made the roster. Mainieri added he has been impressed by Jones on and off the field.”It’s awe-inspiring what he does some days,” he said. “He’ll take three swings in a row and hit three in a row over the scoreboard.”Mainieri said he expects to make a decision on Jones before the team’s final rosters are due on Feb. 19 — a day before the season opener against Villanova.If Jones stays with the team, he will be available for the first 14 games of the season and the last 18 games because of spring football commitments.”What I will have to do by Feb. 15 is make the decision whether or not that’s worth it,” Mainieri said. Mainieri also said junior outfielder Jared Mitchell will not participate in spring football to concentrate on baseball. He said LSU football coach Les Miles gave Mitchell permission to miss football’s spring activities.”My dealings with Les since I have been here have been off the charts,” Mainieri said. “That guy has got so much integrity, so much honesty. He cares about the kids. He is just a phenomenal person to work with. I think we both felt it was the right thing to do to give this kid every opportunity to be the very best baseball player he can be this spring.” Mainieri said Mitchell ran into problems on the baseball field last season that were difficult to deal with because of his lack of practice.”That won’t be an excuse for him this year,” he said.The status of the Tigers’ new ballpark was also brought up during the 40-minute press conference.Associate Athletic Director Eddie Nunez said both the new Alex Box Stadium and new Tiger Park should be completed by opening day.”Right now, everything is going the way we would like it to,” Nunez said.Nunez said the team facilities in Alex Box Stadium are 99 percent complete, the field is about 98 percent complete, all the seating is complete and the suites are about 90 percent complete. He said severe rain would be the only deterrent of the completion of the stadium. He said some of the parking lots need to be finished, and rain would make that impossible. Mainieri said he hopes to begin practice in the new stadium Tuesday.”That’s our plan right now,” he said. “That’s what we hope to do as long as everything continues to go well. The contractor has done phenomenal work. I just hope our team plays as well as the park will look.”—-Contact Amos Morale at [email protected]