Facility Projects Article IV: Baseball/Softball Facilities
by Darrel Stufflebeam
February 14, 2012
Facility Projects Article IV: Baseball/Softball Facilities
We have been examining the possibility of constructing a baseball/softball complex at the RCJSHS campus over the past few years. Currently, our baseball team plays at the Westmoreland field and our softball team plays at the St. George field. We feel our school district and our communities have a need for more such facilities. No decisions have been made regarding potential facility projects but, if the BOE and our patrons want us to pursue them, all needed information is in place and we would be ready to proceed.
Our plans call for two baseball and two softball fields to be located on the west side of the RCJSHS campus. Current plans call for one field for each sport to be a lighted “competition” field with and the other to be an unlighted practice field. An engineering study shows that enough space exists for the complex. We would, however, need to move our practice football field, for which there are two alternate locations.
Necessary items for the complex would cost about $2 million. Additional options include a central building (for storage, restrooms, concessions, and a press box), irrigation, upgraded dugouts, and shade structures for the bleachers. The total cost of those options would be about $1.2 million.
At least three “dirt” infields would be composed of natural materials. Since the RCJSHS campus does not have an abundance of water pressure (particularly during the summer), an easier and less expensive option might be to forego an irrigation system ($90,000) and, instead, install artificial turf on the infield of the baseball competition field ($62,000). If so, we might use a waterwheel during outfield grass germination. Again, no decisions about these options have been made.
We have not discussed the specifics of how we would administer the facility but, with few exceptions, our district does not charge our patrons to use our facilities. Our BOE will likely want to keep it that way and would make such policies in advance so that our patrons can make informed decisions. It is likely that we would need to charge a fee to cover the cost of using the field lights.
This would obviously be an expensive project and school district patrons often assign a lower priority for facilities that are strictly for athletic purposes. For those reasons, the BOE will consider making this project a separate ballot question on any future bond issue proposal.
Next week, I will wrap up this series of articles by explaining a few additional facility options and will recap the facility options previously discussed. The last article of the series will be published the following week and will summarize costs and tax implications.
Regardless of what projects, if any, take place, we want our patrons to be as informed as possible and to offer any suggestions or ask any questions. Please email (stuffled@rockcreekschools.org) or phone (457-3732) if I can be of any service.
As always, thank you for supporting Rock Creek USD 323 and public education.
