A little snip, tuck and face lift will cost any willing takers $959,000.

It’s a pretty price tag, but the athletic department has loaned out monetary necessities for the revamping of Sac State’s baseball and softball facilities. The price tag was picked up with the help of outside donations to the school.

The initial intention was to have the projects done by early September in order to allow the teams to begin fall practice in their refurbished facilities, but due to unforeseen delays, the project will not be fully completed until Jan. 1.

While the teams now travel to other facilities for practice, both stadiums are being remodeled in hopes of presenting a more Div. I-like atmosphere for the 2003 season.

With Sac Joaquin County having the second largest number of high school softball players registered in the country, it is no surprise that, “most high school facilities in the Sacramento area were better than Sac State’s facility,” said Hornet softball coach Kathy Strahan.

When all is said and done, Sac State’s softball stadium will house 990 people. The facility upgrade will also include sunken dugouts with a bathroom for the home team, a new batting cage, backstop padding, a nylon screen on the backstop and chair-back seating in the lower box sections.

The baseball team is not falling short-handed in the deal either. The new stadium will be able to hold 1,200 fans. The baseball team’s field will receive some new sod as well as backstop padding. They will also have new sunken dugouts and the chair-back seats.

“The softball facility was really let go and it really deteriorated. It killed a lot of our recruiting,” Strahan said.

With the baseball and softball stadiums at Sac State below the level of local high schools, it was difficult for both programs to compete for recruits. Coaches, players and fans alike are hoping the new improvements will assist in bringing a better recruiting class to Sac State.

“Our poor facility did have a negative impact on recruiting,” Athletic Director Terry Wanless said. “But we’re excited about what the new facility presents.”

Coach Strahan had been pleading for a facility upgrade for several years, as she saw Div. I schools across California continue to upgrade facilities as Sac State fell further and further behind.

The softball team even hosted a NCAA regional game in 1995 when they qualified for the NCAA tournament.

Only a year later they were told that their facilities no longer met the standards of the NCAA, and the Hornets haven’t hosted a regional game since.

“(Sac State) was a terrible facility, and part of the decision that recruits make is based on the quality of the facility they have a chance to play in,” Wanless said.

Wanless, along with both of the coaches within the two programs are optimistic about the possibilities of now rebuilding their programs.

“This will have a positive effect,” Wanless said. “We anticipate coaches will be able to recruit better. There is a commitment to having superior baseball and softball programs, and this is one step helping make that possible.”

While spring training is still months away, both teams are participating in their fall practices, awaiting the final renovation of their new facilities.

“(The response) has been very positive,” Wanless said. “People are excited and coaches are helping making the venue something they can be proud of,. But most important the kids are proud. And we are trying to create an environment for them to be successful in.”