Jackie Robinson Stadium


Jackie Robinson Stadium is a college baseball stadium in Los Angeles, California, U.S., the home field of the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference. Opened in 1981, it is the smallest stadium in the conference, with a seating capacity of 1,820. It is named after former Bruin baseball player Jackie Robinson, the first African-American Major League Baseball player of the modern era.
Robinson attended UCLA from 1939–41, after graduating from Pasadena Junior College. He was the first UCLA athlete to earn varsity letters in four sports: baseball, basketball, football, and track. He played in the major leagues for ten seasons, all with the Brooklyn Dodgers. A statue and a mural of Robinson can be found at the entrance concourse of the stadium.
Jackie Robinson Stadium is located off-campus, on the west side of the Interstate 405 freeway, on the grounds of the Los Angeles Veterans Health Administration. Robinson's classmate, Hoyt Pardee, gave a gift to help with the construction of the stadium. The stadium's "Steele Field" was dedicated in honor of the Steele Foundation on May 3, 2008, prior to a game against Arizona State, for its support of the stadium. The hitting facility at the stadium is named Jack and Rhodine Gifford Hitting Facility. Gifford played baseball at UCLA and graduated from the Engineering School with a BSEE degree. He was a founder of Advanced Micro Devices and Maxim Integrated Products.
A capacity crowd of 2,613 saw the Bruins defeating the defending National Champions LSU Tigers 6–3 at the Los Angeles Regional of the NCAA Baseball Tournament on June 5, 2010. The record of 2,914 fans was set on March 23, 1997 in a game against USC. In 2010, the Bruins ranked 48th among Division I baseball programs in attendance, averaging 1,178 per home game.
The stadium is not to be confused with the Jackie Robinson Memorial Field at Brookside Park, next to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, where UCLA plays its home football games.

Court case

On August 30, 2013, a federal judge ruled that the United States Department of Veterans Affairs misused the West Los Angeles campus where the stadium is located for a variety of uses, including the stadium, but stopped short of ordering the tenants off the property. However, the judge's ruling left open the possibility that, if not modified or reversed, UCLA could lose the right to use the stadium.

Notable events