Patty Gasso, others weigh in on whether the WCWS should rotate host sites
OKLAHOMA CITY — It’s become a reoccurring talking point this time of year. With Devon Park gearing up to host another Women’s College World Series — a field that includes the two-seeded Oklahoma gunning for a fourth straight national championship — some have wondered whether the tournament’s location in Oklahoma City gives the Sooners an unfair advantage. Texas coach Mike White, who’s Longhorns are the top-overall seed heading into the tournament, reignited that discussion during an interview with the Austin-American Statesman on Tuesday.
“I’d love to see it rotate (to different sites) eventually, but probably not in my tenure as a coach,” he told the newspaper. “We get it, but it is a huge advantage obviously for Oklahoma.”
It was a huge discussion last year, as the Sooners finished the season with a 61-1 record while taking home the program’s seventh national championship. Devon Park — formally known as the USA Hall of Fame Softball Complex — has been the host site of the WCWS for decades. With recent renovations and stadium upgrades, the park now seats 13,000 people and has long been the premiere spot for college softball. Recently, the NCAA, USA Softball, and Oklahoma City agreed to extend the contract through 2034, keeping the WCWS in Oklahoma.
As the Sooners’ run of national championships has continued, OU fans have flocked in droves to OKC each June. Gasso acknowledged that Norman’s close proximity to Oklahoma City is certainly an advantage, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to apologize for it.
“It’s no doubt that Sooners fans come out,” Gasso said during Wednesday’s press conference. “If you have it in Omaha, Nebraska fans are going to come out. Where are you going to take it? Who has a 15,000-plus stadium to have it? There’s nothing we can do. It’s not our fault. It’s no one’s fault. It’s the people of Oklahoma City that put in the money to make this happen. It’s a celebration of that.”
You can look at it any way you want. Someone’s going to have to put up big bucks to try to get it somewhere else. I know this is a long-term contract, as well. I don’t know. Everybody has their opinions. As long as it’s here, we’re going to take advantage of it, just like anybody else would.
Other WCWS coaches offered their thoughts on White’s suggestion that the WCWS rotate to different sites:
Stanford coach Jessica Allister
“I don’t know. I think there’s not going to be any such thing as equal and fair no matter where you’re at. That’s just not the way the world works. I think what we’ve built here in Oklahoma City for the sport of softball is really, really, really special. So do I think there’s some advantages built in there? I do. Do I think that they outweigh what this event does for the sport? That’s a hard jump for me to make. So I’m really happy with everything that Oklahoma City has done for the sport and the stage that they’ve built for us to compete.”
Alabama coach Patrick Murphy
“There’s not a comparable space. We don’t have Dodger Stadium and Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. We have this place. I don’t see anybody else going to pony up now probably 60 million, 70 million to build a facility like this, press room like this, locker rooms we have, the field behind where we practice. You’re not going to do it overnight. It’s going to take at least three or four years, right? I don’t know. I feel like this is becoming Omaha. Creighton was good in baseball. Nebraska was good this year in baseball. If they go to the World Series, it adds another spice to the tournament. Us, we’re like deal with it. Norman is, what, 29 miles away, 29 minutes?”
UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez
“I’m just going to say we’re using terms like the crowd is white noise. I’ve won championships where we didn’t have the most fans in the stands. We definitely have our little section of blue. It’s part of the game. I don’t think there’s an advantage. I think the players on the field know we have to play. We know it gets loud. We know there could be more bodies wearing a certain color. I don’t really look in the stands, so I never know. I can’t speak to things that are out of our control. Right now, I’ve been able to be fortunate to play as a player here and to be able to see the stadium grow, the fans get bigger, the scoreboards. Everything that’s come from how they’ve grown the sport. This is the headquarters of the College World Series. Whether they’re in, whether they’re out, anytime we get a chance to play, it’s softball and it’s between the white lines. For that, wherever it is, I want to be in it. For now I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of great memories in this stadium, no matter who we’re playing against or who’s in the stands.”
