Baum tops Baseball America list of best ballparks

Arkansas fans cheer as Arkansas takes on Missouri State on Monday, June 5, 2017, during the final game of the NCAA Fayetteville Regional at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville.

— Twenty years after it topped the list for the first time, Arkansas' Baum Stadium was ranked No. 1 in Baseball America's list of best college baseball parks Thursday.

The 22-year-old stadium was referred to "as one of the crown jewels of college baseball," by the publication, which stated the facility "has withstood the test of time." Baseball America ranked Baum Stadium No. 1 in its list of best college ballparks in 1998 and No. 2 in 2003.

More from WholeHogSports

http://www.wholehog…">Baum Stadium arose from uncertainty

Baum Stadium has undergone multiple renovations since it opened as a 3,328-seat park midway through the 1996 season. Among the ballpark's newer features: chair-back seats and luxury suites extending the length of both foul lines, expanded room in the left field berm and a 25-foot by 71-foot video board in center field.

The renovations have expanded the stadium's seating capacity to 10,737, and it has hosted nine games that exceeded capacity. A record crowd of 12,167 watched the Razorbacks' NCAA super regional game against Missouri State on June 6, 2015.

The 34 luxury suites are sold out each year and have had no turnover since 2009. The addition of more suites and an outfield concourse area were listed in a 2011 university master plan.

There is no timetable on those renovations or expected ones to the Razorbacks' clubhouse and weight room, but Arkansas has never gone more than seven years without making some sort of upgrade to the park. The last renovation, which added the video board, came prior to the 2016 season.

Arkansas was one of five Southeastern Conference programs with facilities that made the 2018 list, along with LSU, Texas A&M, South Carolina and Mississippi State. More SEC stadiums could make the list in future years, as Kentucky and Florida are in the process of constructing new parks at costs of around $50 million apiece, and Mississippi State's Dudy Noble Field is undergoing a $55 million renovation.