Swayze Field receiving $13 million upgrade by 2018

OXFORD - Coach Mike Bianco was reading a news release about Ole Miss’ $13 million project to upgrade Swayze Field on Tuesday morning when he began hearing beeping outside.

The noise made Bianco happy, leading him to think athletic director Ross Bjork wasn’t wasting any time getting the project started. However, director of operations Jake Scott broke the bad news: It was only the windows being cleaned, not the beginning of the project.

Still, Bianco is excited about the work scheduled to be completed in time for the 2018 season. The project will include a new performance center, a field level club, more box seating, a rooftop plaza along the first base line and expansion/realignment of the left field terrace.

“I’ve always tried to not be the guy that said, ‘Hey, we need this to recruit,’” Bianco said at the baseball team’s media day Tuesday afternoon. “We already have an outstanding stadium. Of course, we’ve always felt that Ole Miss and Oxford is easy to recruit to.

“But in fairness, our stadium, the outside is as nice as anyone’s. But inside the locker room, in our competitors and who we compete against in the Southeastern Conference, I think is in need of some upgrades. I think certainly when a recruit looks at our facility in the future, there’s no doubt when he walks out he’s going to say this is one of the best facilities in the country.”

The performance center will include a new clubhouse, training room, weight room, players’ lounge, players’ meeting room, indoor hitting cages and an indoor pitching tunnel.

The Rebels’ locker room and lounge were renovated in 2009, when much of the work done was focused on seating. This update places more emphasis on things designed for players.

“Ole Miss athletics is always looking out for the welfare of our student-athletes, and the upgrading of facilities is one way to improve their entire collegiate experience,” Ole Miss athletic director Ross Bjork said in a statement. “As one of our most popular and successful sports at Ole Miss, the baseball program brings so much excitement to our fans. It is only fitting that the highlight of this project is a new performance center for the baseball team.”

Ole Miss is in the process of choosing an architect for the work.

Further details of the project, which is part of Ole Miss’ $200 million Forward Together campaign, will be released March 24 before the Rebels play host to South Carolina.

The Forward Together campaign has also raised money to build the $96.5 million Pavilion and renovate and expand Vaught-Hemingway Stadium and the football team’s indoor practice facility, as well as other projects around campus.

The Rebels open their season at 4 p.m. Friday with a three-game home series against Florida International after going 30-28 last season with a 15-14 record in conference play.

Contact Daniel Paulling at dpaulling@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @DanielPaulling on Twitter.