OXFORD | Ole Miss is introducing a new premium seating area for baseball games this season, and images of the partly-finished product on social media recently made for a certain amount of panic and PTSD with the fanbase.

Club 41-11 (named after the retired jersey numbers of Jake Gibbs and Don Kessinger) is a “premium hospitality structure” elevated above and sitting behind the student section in right field at Oxford-University Stadium. The area has food and beverage like the other premium seating options as well as parking included.

Eventually, when the stadium improvements that are part of the current capital campaign are completed, it will be a permanent structure that connects to the west side of the indoor hitting facility. But, for now, it’s a hospitality tent similar to what the PGA Tour uses.

Ole Miss athletics director Keith Carter wants fans to judge it on how it looks, but he would like for that to at least wait until it’s completed.

“I know we’re scarred about tents, I get it,” Carter said, referring to the makeshift tents that were in the football student section during the 2019 season. “For us, it’s unfortunate some pictures got out there when it was maybe 40 percent finished. When you sell 8,000 season tickets, you’re trying to find somewhere to put the people. There’s demand. People want to be there.”

Ole Miss announced a season ticket sales record of 7,775 on January 10, which should inch up to the 8,000 Carter mentioned. That includes a sell out of the Diamond Club and Dugout Club areas, leading to the decision to install this area behind the students.

“It’s going to be awesome when it’s said and done (with the permanent plans attached to the capital campaign), but we were thinking of how to gauge interest and who would sit there and how it would look. We are going to do it really nice. There will be graphics and it’ll look fine when said and done. At the end of the day we want to accommodate fans.”

Carter said “we’ll see how it goes” about whether this hospitality tent iteration is what will be there until the permanent construction is completed.

“The view is awesome, and you’re in the middle of the showers and all that,” Carter said. “It’s a revenue source and an opportunity to get more people in.”

Carter also said students won’t be charged for games to sit in right field. Paid student admission was only during the limited seating situation related to COVID-19 in 2021.

“It’s back to what they know and love in right field,” Carter said.

Ole Miss opens the season on February 18 against Charleston Southern.