Photos by David Welch, Stadium Journey
Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 3.29
Joe Lee Griffin Field 800 Lakeshore Drive Birmingham, AL 35229
Year Opened: 1958 Capacity: 1,000
All for Samford
Organized in 1878, baseball was the first athletic team formed at Samford University, when the university was then known as Howard College. The institution would move twice around the Birmingham area, until it found its seemingly permanent home in Homewood, Alabama, just over Red Mountain from downtown Birmingham.
Since joining the Southern Conference in 1997, Samford baseball has claimed four conference tournament championships (2012, 2018, 2021, and 2023), earning NCAA tournament bids and winning both regular season and tournament crowns in 2023.
Originally built in 1958, the facility would take on the name Joe Lee Griffin Field in 2000, following major renovations that would see the field have more of a stadium feel to it.
Food & Beverage 2
A small concession stand is built into the backside of the grandstand, which offers a modest selection of options. Hot dogs and nachos are the main offerings, with snacks of popcorn, chips, and assorted candy also available.
Beverage choices include products from the Coca-Cola family of soft drinks plus Body Armor, PowerAde, Gold Leaf iced tea, Dasani bottled water, and Monster energy drinks. Alcoholic beverages are not sold at Samford athletic events.
Atmosphere 3
Joe Lee Griffin Field is a rather simple ballpark with not much seating, other than a small grandstand that sits behind home plate that runs just between the on-deck circles. What the ballpark lacks in grandstand seating, however, it more than makes up for with its grassroots feel of fans bringing their own tailgating chairs to line the brick-lined boundaries. The venue is a beautiful brick facility, topped with ornate capstones that blend in perfectly with the surrounding campus facilities.
The grandstand is a bit small, running just between the on-deck circles at the front edge of each dugout. This seating includes three sections, a center section of fold-down, aluminum seats between two sections of bench seating with back support. The primary seating area provides very little shade, but those wanting to escape the rays of the sun might think about bringing a tailgating chair to set up on the drive behind the bullpens, which is shaded by tall pines beyond the stadium.
The most popular seating area is on the home side, beyond the dugout, and is commonly heavily lined with tailgating chairs. Be forewarned though – there is no protective netting past the dugout, and this area can be prone to hot shots slicing off the bat of a right-handed hitter.
The game presentation doesn’t add a lot of extras when it comes to Samford baseball, but the game it kept simple where the action on the field is the star of the show, and this works perfectly well.
Neighborhood 3
Samford’s hilly campus is directly off one of the major thoroughfares through Homewood – Samford serves as a buffer of sorts between State Route 149 and the surrounding residential areas. Homewood is also full of beautiful neighborhoods and seemingly endless miles of running and walking trails.
Samford is less than four miles from Homewood’s city center, and has a well-rounded choice of restaurants and shops. Visitors looking for legendary Birmingham barbecue can find Dreamland BBQ just 5 miles away. A bit of what might be a controversial take: while Dreamland is a well-known, exceptionally good barbecue spot throughout the southeast, locals might point you to SAW’s Juke Joint for the best in the area.
There are plenty of attractions within a 15-minute drive of Samford’s campus. Along with the miles of trails in the area, the Vulcan Monument sits atop Red Mountain and overlooks Birmingham. The Birmingham Zoo is also conveniently located near campus.
On campus, Joe Lee Field is sandwiched between Pete Hanna Center and football’s Pete Hanna Stadium, creating the center of Samford’s athletics hub.
Fans 3
Samford baseball attendance is rather consistent with other programs throughout the SoCon. When looking at average attendance figures, Samford is in a group of four other schools that are within about100 fans of one another, averaging between 350 to 450 fans per game.
The primary concentration of fans populates the grassy walkway up the right field line – this area is rather festive with fans, families, and loved ones discussing the current game, or past on-field heroics.
Access 4
Getting to Homewood and Samford from the north or south on Interstate 65 is a relatively straight shot to campus. Those coming from the east or west on Interstate 20 must use a couple of bypasses before reaching Samford. It is not necessarily difficult; just a few extra off-highway miles to navigate.
Upon reaching campus, the most convenient parking lot is located beyond left field. Once through the gates of Samford’s west entrance, an immediate left-hand turn leads to the south stadium lot, leaving just a short walk to the left field entrance. However, a parking garage sitting just up the hill from the right field entrance might be a bit more direct for those sitting along the right field line.
Navigating the facility is rather straightforward. Given the design of the ballpark, there is not a traditional concourse, but more of a wide-open walkway that Joe Lee Griffin Field shares with neighboring Pete Hanna Stadium. The walkway narrows as it passes behind the home side of the grandstand, transitioning to a grassy path through chairs and shrubbery up the first base side of the field.
Return on Investment 4
Tickets run $8 for adults and $3 for children 4-12 years of age. While a handful of schools in the SoCon offer free admission, the rates at Samford are comparable to other programs who do charge.
Concessions are reasonably priced and encourage fans to grab a bite or beverage.
Extras 4
The back side of the grandstand displays the names of those who have helped to write the history of Samford baseball, and they are also recognized in the Samford Baseball Hall of Fame.
Samford’s campus provides a beautiful backdrop for baseball – the dome of the Beeson Divinity School and the spire atop A. Hamilton Reid Chapel sit prominently in the distance.
Samford baseball hosts a number of promotions throughout the season, including several stadium giveaways, theme nights, and game experiences for Bulldog fans.
The ability to sit along the brick walls that run up both sides of the field puts fans right on top of the action. In fact, Samford might put fans closer to the action on the field than any other baseball field in the nation.
Final Thoughts
For fans of the simplicity of the game of baseball, the Samford baseball experience is not going to “ooh and ahh” with t-shirt cannons, light shows, and endless on-field contests. What Samford baseball does do is give fans an experience that provides the ability to simply take in the game while they chat about game strategy, lament the perceived bad calls of the umpire, or just sit back and enjoy the game.
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