See photos of the newly-renovated Sewell-Thomas Stadium here!

It’s hard for University of Alabama athletics director Bill Battle and baseball coach Mitch Gaspard to pick their favorite part of the rebuilt Sewell-Thomas Stadium.

But it’s not for lack of options. There’s premium seating behind home plate and a dozen new luxury boxes for fans. There’s a 7,500-square foot indoor training facility with batting cages that players have already been able to use. There are better sight lines, wider concourses, a new locker room and much more.

“I like everything right now,” Gaspard said. “When you go through the locker room, the lounge, the meeting room, the club levels for our fans, it’s hard to pick out what’s going to be the best facility. I’m sure if you ask a student, they’re going to say the right field area. We feel like that’s what’s most important to us: We didn’t miss one area. Every area is top scale and everything is nice.”

There’s a lot to like at the new “Joe.”

That’s the final product of a $42 million renovation at the stadium that will finish in time for the Crimson Tide’s season opener on Feb. 19 against Maryland.

“What we wanted it to be was a stadium that our players could enjoy, our fans could enjoy, and certainly that prospects and recruits would be impressed with,” Battle said. “So we tried to put features in that would accommodate all of those and I think our people have done a great job of doing that so far.”

Plans for the stadium included major overhauls and construction, but also countless details to improve the facility. Seats down the first and third base line are angled slightly toward home plate to help fans keep their eye on the action. New entry gates in the outfield make for better access to the stadium from the parking lot. Fans beyond right field are within shouting distance of the visitors’ bullpen.

The architecture melds with its surroundings on campus, including Coleman Coliseum and Bryant-Denny Stadium. The team has a separate room to aerate cleats to avoid lingering smells in the clubhouse, and catchers will have wider lockers to store their extra gear. Signage throughout the stadium pays tribute to great players and teams in Alabama history. Alcohol will also be available for sale in areas with premium seating, as it is in Bryant-Denny Stadium.

The updates have already made an impression on players and recruits.

“It’s going to make an immediate impact, there’s no question,” Gaspard said. “But the future of the program, that’s a part that we’ve already seen how much of an impact just from a recruiting standpoint what it’s going to do for us down the road. I think now, when you mention Alabama baseball throughout the country, just the facility itself, we’re not taking a backseat to anybody. That’s in postseason play, regional, super regionals, recruiting, all those things that are very important to your program. We’re going to be at the top of that list now throughout the country.”

Fans can also get a peek at the new stadium this weekend during three open scrimmages at the stadium that start. Friday’s practice begins at 2:00, Saturday’s at 10:30 a.m. and Sunday’s at noon.

“We want to have the best product on the field, but we also want it to be a show,” Gaspard said. “We want people to want to come out to the ballpark for the ballpark itself, but also to enjoy the game as well.”

Reach Ben Jones at ben@tidesports.com or 205-722-0196.