The University of Kentucky Athletics Department on Friday received approval to begin construction on a new baseball stadium. Construction will begin in February and is expected to take 18-20 months, meaning the stadium will open in late fall 2018 in time for the 2019 UK baseball season.

The new stadium will be located off Alumni Drive between the new Kentucky Football Training Facility and the Wendell and Vickie Bell Soccer Complex, adding to the cluster of UK Athletics facilities in the area. The stadium will feature permanent seating for 2,400 fans with additional space on grass berms to accommodate a total of 4,000 fans for regular-season games. Beyond the outfield wall, temporary bleachers can be installed for NCAA Tournament games to bring the seating capacity to 6,000. Fan amenities also will include suites and a new club area.

There will be a press conference on Monday with further details. A stream of that press conference will be available on UKathletics.com.