Joe Castiglione details how Love's Field came together

For Joe Castiglione, he never doubted that OU would play at Love’s Field by March 1. 

Despite some delays and a tight deadline, the Oklahoma athletics director stood firm on the opening date for the new softball stadium. 

“Never. It wasn’t an option,” Castiglione said Wednesday. “You can talk to my staff. We’ve been talking about this — we will play in that stadium on March 1st. Period. There weren’t any ands, ifs, or buts after that statement.”

On Friday, one of the largest projects during Castiglione’s tenure will finally be open to the public. The No. 1 Sooners will officially get to play in their new home, as Love’s Field is finally unveiled. 

Since he arrived at OU in 1998, Castiglione has been a part of some big athletic projects. He’s spearheaded renovations for football, basketball, soccer, gymnastics and softball. The reshaping of the south end zone of Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in 2015-16 was one of the largest projects in school history. 

But this, the building of Love’s Field, is unfamiliar territory for Castiglione. 

“Certainly nothing of this magnitude. Being able to design this from scratch has been a whole lot of fun,” Castiglione said. “And as much as we are utilizing everything we can from measuring the interest from our fanbase to the growth of the program — as much forward-thinking we could put into this program, it was tough. I mean, it’s great. But a lot of people will see it and say, ‘that’s great.’ But to navigate it the way we did from the earliest days of when started talking about this stadium … these things don’t just happen. There are so many conversations and details and work done by so many people. It’s a team-Oklahoma approach.”

Castiglione is excited about Friday’s celebration of Love’s Field, even if it’s not finished. For him, he’s proud of the program that Patty Gasso and her players have built. And it’s a prideful moment for him too, as he considers it one of the greater accomplishments of his tenure. 

“It’s a testament to what coach Gasso and the countless players over time,” Castiglione said, “both those that came at Reaves Park who didn’t have a facility to those who were here for the earliest years of Marita Hynes and to those who continue to build the program that won championships at the conference and national level, created now what’s an iconic program. It’s befitting for the type of program that’s been built by so many players, staff and our head coach Patty Gasso.”

Impact on women’s sports

Under Castiglione’s leadership, women’s athletics has been a priority. There’s a reason OU’s two most successful sports — softball and women’s gymnastics — are as good as they are. Oklahoma invests in them. 

Love’s Field is just another example of that investment. 

“I think it’s a huge moment (for women’s sports),” Castiglione said. “It makes a statement without any of us having to say anything. I mean, it’s our action. It’s the way we lead. It’s the example we set. That’s what makes the difference… It’s the completion of something like this that says everything.”

But this was an easy investment, Castiglione said. The softball program has earned this type of investment, winning seven national titles. That certainly makes it easier to invest in the program.

“It’s a similar dream that we have for all of our programs to put them in a position to continue to be successful,” Castiglione said. “And I know we’ve got other really important projects that are going on and are in various stages of planning. But I think this is really about where the program overall is and certainly the interest in the sport as much as it is about our program needing great facilities. We need them, but we need to also recognize that this is a sport that has significant data that shows the interest continues to grow.”

Oklahoma-shaped big screen

One of the staples of Love’s Field is going to be the big screen. The jumbotron is shaped like the state of Oklahoma, making it a unique centerpiece of the stadium. It was actually Castiglione who came up with the idea. He wanted to replicate major league baseball stadiums that often have unique scoreboards. And he wanted to pay homage to the state. 

“It comes from the recesses of one’s mind trying to think of what can be done to add to a facility that is already state of the art,” Castiglione said. “Create some personality, some iconic elements to it… We were trying to make it feel like one of the unique ballparks in the country and playing off our history with Route 66 passing through our state and just our state pride. It just sort of all came together as an idea… We just thought this was something that would be iconic.”

Patty Gasso statue

Love’s Field won’t be completely finished until April, Castiglione said. The locker rooms and practice facilities are not done. But once they are finished, he anticipates having an open house for fans to tour the enter park. 

He also still intends to have a statue for Gasso. That’s currently still in the process of being made and will have its own date for celebration. 

“Let us roll out one surprise after the other,” Castiglione said. “We’ll get to that soon. Believe me, we know where that’s going. We want to roll this particular special day out first. We have plans around everything else.”