The Town of Amherstburg will put forward the funds to make upgrades to their premier baseball diamond.
Council met Monday, with one report looking to approve $375,000 and award the job to FieldTurf to upgrade and repair the town’s Premier Baseball Diamond.
During the meeting, council asked a number of questions about ways to reduce the costs further, such as “like-for-like” diamond, or removing the turf and converting it back to grass, however administration stated those costs would be just as much, if not more than what was being presented.
This diamond is the only fastball artificial turf field in Essex County, and is home to the University of Windsor baseball team, and regularly hosts the Windsor Selects for games, along with numerous other local user groups throughout the year.
During the 2024 budget, council approved funding to make changes to the existing backstop, diamond, and seating areas. A few months after council approved the money, Baseball Canada updated their guidelines requiring a minimum distance of 60 feet from home plate to the backstop.
Due to these changes, council was being asked to approve a funding shortfall of $133,500 to bring the diamond into compliance.
Terry Fasan, Manager of Municipal Facilities at Town of Amherstburg, says having an artificial turf diamond is extremely beneficial when it comes to cutting down on maintenance between games.
“You could have that game play immediately the next morning, and again in the evenings if we play a double or triple header on a Saturday, usually we have multiple staff working for around four hours on Sunday to get the next double header in, whereas if it was artificial turf you could have them play in the mornings, and then still be open for local games or other individuals for another two game series that day.”
Councillor Don McArthur says the town already committed money to fix the diamond.
“We get a fresh, new amenity, and replacing something that has reached its end of life, you get a fresh, new amenity for the next 20 years for the kids of Amherstburg who might one day grow up to be major leaguers.”
McArthur says this is something everyone gets to enjoy.
“Kids will get to the play there, Amherstburg kids, and they’re going to remember it for the rest of their lives. It’s going to inspire them to better things, they’re going to get to there and watch real baseball tournaments in a regulation facility - the premier facility, the only all-turf baseball field in Essex County.”
The $133,500 needed to complete the repairs will be funded through the Libro Light Standards Reserve, and the Libro Arena & Ice Infrastructure Reserve.
The diamond was first constructed in 2010 alongside the Libro Credit Union Recreation Complex.