Timeline is tight, but Doggy Paddlers ownership believe new dugouts, stadium seats will be ready for opener

QUINCY — QU Stadium will look quite differently when the Quincy Doggy Paddlers take the field for the first Prospect League game in Quincy in nearly two years.

The Doggy Paddlers ownership group has partnered with Quincy University and local volunteers to renovate QU Stadium ahead of the Doggy Paddlers’ home opener on May 28.

“There’s a tight timeline for opening day, but we’re expecting to be ready to rock and roll,” Doggy Paddlers co-owner Tim Hoker said.

Work on the renovations began as soon as the Quincy University baseball team’s home schedule concluded April 27. Highlights of the improvements include new dugouts and bleacher seating to replace the plastic chairs attached to wooden benches that have provided seating for fans for the better part of three decades.

“It will have a different feel, for sure,” Hoker said. “We’re excited about that.”

The new dugouts, expected to be completed by Friday, May 23, will be surface-level as opposed to the sunken dugouts in place before. The dugouts will be about seven feet tall, meaning a previously unobstructed row of seats will no longer be usable — but Hoker is not concerned about that.

“(The dugouts) are going to look awesome, and they’re a big safety improvement for the teams that come and play there, both college and summer league,” Hoker said.

The new bleacher seating will have backs to accompany the benches, and season-ticket holders will be provided with seat cushions for an even more comfortable experience.

“Aesthetically, it’s going to look more pleasing to the eye without all those broken and sun-baked seats,” Hoker siad. “It’s going to feel better. There’s going to be more room. There are 18 inches for each seat. There will be plenty of room to sit and be comfortable.”

There will also be more room between rows of seats.

“There was always just a board (on the walkway), so you always had like six, seven, eight inches,” Hoker said. “We’ve taken those boards out and flattened all those cement pylons, so you’ll probably have twice as much room to walk. It will be a lot safer.”

The organization put in an order for the seats in February, but complications pushed the shipping date back to Thursday. They arrived in Quincy on Saturday.

“We were worried that the seats weren’t going to come,” Hoker said. “They were coming from Canada, and then all this tariff stuff happened. Thank goodness they pulled back the tariffs from Canada because the prices would have gone through the roof. We lost a couple weeks because they didn’t know what was going to happen.”

Hoker said the organization hopes to have the bleachers installed by Friday, May 23, as well, leaving Tuesday, May 27 — the day after Memorial Day — for any final touch-ups.

“There are a lot of things that have to happen,” Hoker said. “We have to hit some dates, but everything is on track.”

There are tentative plans for further improvements like more handicap accessibility, and the organization will make minor improvements throughout the season. The dugouts and new seats are the top priority presently.

“We’ll continue to make it better throughout the season with some painting and other aesthetic stuff to make it look better, but from a functionality perspective, it will be much more comfortable, pleasing on the eye and safer,” Hoker said.

The Doggy Paddlers will ring in the new-look QU Stadium when they face the reigning Prospect League champions at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 28.