The Soden’s Grove baseball field has nearly finished its face-lift, but it’s already winning fans.
Contractor Dave Markowitz saw that last weekend during the Mike’s Tourney. As the bright summer sun poured down on the field, a crowd of fans watched from the bleachers — the covered bleachers, now providing some shade no matter where you happen to sit.
“Nobody ever used those center bleachers in the past just because of the heat and sun,” said Markowitz, who is also associated with the Emporia Baseball Club. “Now you’ve got that area of seating that’s protected and functional.”
“Functional” doesn’t go far enough. “Beautiful” might be a better word. The ballfield had always been pretty but now it has a backdrop to match — soft colors, clean lines, an old-time feel.
It’s a little less than two weeks away from being completely done. There’s still some landscaping to do before the open house (planned for the week of July 23). The old storage spot in the parking lot still has to be torn down and paved over as the new storage area under the press box is finished. There’s still some little things left to do before the Soden’s diamond is well and truly polished.
But it’s so close. And once it’s finished, there’s going to be a lot to appreciate. Such as air-conditioned rooms for the officials, so that a travel trailer no longer has to be hooked up outside the park. Or a press box with wireless connections and phone lines to the dugout.
It’s a field with a brand-new backstop, a brand-new concession stand, a brand-new everything. The only drawback was that, despite the best intentions, it wasn’t done by the first pitch of summer. Freezing temperatures and pouring rain earlier this year accounted for some of the delay, though Markowitz said everyone had been able to work around the recent storms.
“Things have come together all right,” he said. “It’s been wet, but at least we’ve had three or four dry days in a row where we’ve been able to get some things done.”
It’s been five years since the Emporia Baseball Club first pushed for the improvements. Now, with the end in sight, Markowitz said he is more than satisfied.
“It’s turned out as good as I’d hoped,” he said. “This is a great park to play ball in. And I think the facility now matches the quality of the field and the rest of the aesthetics of the park very well.”
logical (anonymous) says...
Now it is time to work on the girls fields at Whittier. The scoreboard doesn't work and the bathrooms are disgusting!!
July 10, 2007 at 5:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sciguy (anonymous) says...
They need to figure out a better attendance system so that they can stop closing down the road that goes by the zoo every time they have a game.
July 10, 2007 at 11:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )