Oct. 3, 2001

Los Angeles, CA (October 3, 2001)-- There is nothing else like it in college baseball. It towers over the existing grandstand and its top claiming "LMU, Home of the Lions," is visible from the Loyola Boulevard entrance.

It is the new Mikos Blue Monster, a 130-foot leftfield wall at Loyola Marymount University's Page Stadium. The project was completed late last week and with it brings a classic style all its own to the Lions' baseball program and to college baseball.

Page Stadium, originally built in 1983, has taken a step back in time and has established some new character. Thanks to a gift from Paul Mikos, the "wall" contains a new manual scoreboard, complete with out of town scores reminiscent of some of major league baseball's classic ball parks. A replica to Fenway Park's Green Monster, the Lions' "Mikos Monster" stands 130-feet wide and 37-feet tall and makes the home of the six-time WCC Champions one of the most unique ballparks in the nation.

Within the wall is only one of a handful of manual scoreboards in all of baseball. The board itself isn't small, standing 18-feet tall and 46-feet wide. Complete with a line score and out-of-town West Coast Conference score updates, the scoreboard will combine some old-time baseball charm with today's technology.

The scoreboard will have electronic balls, strikes and outs, along with electronic at-bat and hit/error identification. Every other component will be tallied using 2-foot square green aluminum score cards slipped in behind the scoreboard manually.

The final touches on the wall, including padding, signage and protection plates on the electronic numbers, completed the construction project that started over the summer.

Along with the Mikos Monster, Page Stadium went through some minor touch-ups over the summer. The grandstand seating for more than 600, which features a "VIP" section with 200 theater-type seats, have been painted classic baseball green to match the new scoreboard. The field, which includes spacious field-level dugouts and bullpens along with a double batting tunnel, continues to be one of the finest in the West Coast Conference.

The Lions will play in front of the Mikos Monster for the first time on Tuesday, February 5, 2002, against Cal State Northridge. Game time is set for 2:00 p.m.

-GO LIONS-