Columnist Dean Juipe: New field may excite Rebels, fans

Dean Juipe

Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2002 | 9:09 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

Picture it as one of those old and campy posters that touted B-grade movies with all the exclamation points and outrageousness a hack could muster.

"Years in the Making!" would be splashed across the top.

"No Expense Spared!" would appear in five-inch letters.

"Guaranteed Thrills!" would hook the curious.

And "See it Again and Again!" would have you considering the possibilities.

Intrigued? Well, of course you would be.

And that's how Shan McDonald, the UNLV athletic department and the university as a whole hopes you react to the new Eller Media softball stadium that opens today on campus with the Rebels hosting St. Mary's at 2 p.m.

The mock movie poster only partially does the new facility justice, although it literally was years in the making and comes with virtually no expense spared.

Ten years this baby has been on the drawing board, 10 long years as far as McDonald is concerned. And the price tag -- $2.7 million -- reflects not only the stadium's many amenities but its potential as a turning point for the women's softball program.

McDonald begins her 16th season as head coach of the Rebels, but it's her first with the type of classy field that attracts recruits' eyes. The old Rebel Diamond that was sandwiched on campus as something of an oasis amid school buildings was inevitably described as quaint, but in reality its shortcomings cost UNLV a shot at any number of standout players.

As a result the Rebels have had five consecutive losing seasons, with last year's 26-30 record fairly typical. Also typical: Those home games were played in solitude.

The trick for McDonald and her young team is to fill the seats at Eller and build enough repeat-customer business that both players and fans benefit. As such, she would be within her rights to feel a little pressure.

"The truth is, if anything, I feel a support from the university and an optimism that I never have before," McDonald said. "I feel we have a chance."

It's a reality that only winning teams are supported at UNLV and McDonald will need one within two or three years. "We won't wake up tomorrow and be a better team just because we have a new stadium," she said, but she's aware of the caveat that comes with the facility.

The Rebels will have to get back to being an NCAA Tournament team -- as they were between 1990 and '96 -- within a very short time or McDonald is apt to feel the repercussion.

But those taking in today's opener should approach with caution, as St. Mary's -- which was practicing at Eller on Monday and enjoying the type of sunny afternoon it wasn't apt to have experienced back in the Bay Area -- is 2-2 after playing in a weekend tournament in St. George, Utah.

Nevertheless, McDonald is "looking for a much better season" and one in which the community comes to appreciate a program it may have forgotten and a soon-to-be green ballpark that was envisioned yet delayed for years.

There is no horror story here, no need for the grimaced faces and tragic expressions of grief that movie poster artists once rendered. It's a happy time for softball players and fans at UNLV, and it's this new stadium that serves as the catalyst!