Spuhler Field
Fairfax, VA
Review by Gary
Spuhler Field is home to George Mason University’s (GMU) Patriots baseball team. The university is named after one of the nation’s founding fathers that you’d probably never heard of until the college reached an improbable NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four in 2006. Mason lived in Fairfax County and the town of Fairfax is where GMU is located. The university has the largest student enrollment of any in Virginia and Mason’s statue welcomes students to the campus and fans of its Atlantic 10 Conference baseball team.
Spuhler Field opened in 1986 when it became the Patriots’ permanent home after years of the team playing at temporary and high school field fields in the Northern Virginia area. Spuhler Field is part of the institution’s larger sports complex, next to a soccer/lacrosse stadium and field house, the latter housing a full-sized indoor practice facility for the baseball players and other athletes.
The field is named after the school’s first head coach and former athletic director and seats 900 spectators. Fans attending games here can choose to sit in three separate raised aluminum bleachers around the infield. Those not wanting to invest in a ticket can sit on a nearby hill that overlooks the stadium beyond the left field fence.
Renovated twice since 1986, Spuhler Field features an enclosed press box that rises high above the main grandstand behind home plate. The press box roof doubles as an outdoor perch to watch the action for those brave enough to climb up the ladder to reach it.
Secondary fixed bleacher seating areas can be found on the opposite sides of each dugout down the baselines with many of the higher rows having no view of home plate. This is due to the pitched rooved dugouts obscuring the line of sight. Arriving early to get the best seat is an understatement at Spuhler Field.
Eight former Major League players once played for GMU, including the current manager (as of this review), Shawn Camp. A native of Fairfax, VA, Camp played for 11 years in the Bigs for five different teams. Perhaps George Mason himself would be proud of the university that sports his name and the Patriots who play here.
2025
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