The 麻豆传媒映画park board will invest nearly $3 million to upgrade storage, shelter, access and washrooms at 10 sports fields, including the little league baseball diamond at Hillcrest, which will become the only one in B.C. to accommodate athletes with limited mobility, known as challenger players.
The challenger baseball upgrades will cost $286,000 to enlarge the dugouts and install artificial turf in the infield, among other alterations. The diamond will also be realigned so batters are not staring into the mid-day sun while at the plate.
The upgrades are supplemented by a $30,000 endowment from the 麻豆传媒映画Canadians minor league baseball club. 聽
In addition to the changes at Hillcrest, upgrades are planned for these parks:
- 聽聽 A field house for the turf field at Oak Meadows beside Eric Hamber secondary for a cost of $712,000. The 麻豆传媒映画Hawks Field Hockey Club is contributing $70,000.
- 聽聽 New washrooms at Van Tech secondary turf field for a cost of $407,000.
- 聽聽 Improvements to the field house at Carnarvon Park for $488,000 with $100,000 coming from Jericho Little League and West Side Warriors Football Club.
- 聽聽 Improvements to the field house at Memorial South Park for $571,000.
- 聽聽 Improvements to the washrooms at Hastings community field house, where the Hastings Little League will host the 2015 Canadian Championship.
- 聽聽 Upgrades to the rink at Kerrisdale Arena for $35,000.
- 聽聽 Improved storage at John Hendry Park for $15,000 with $5,000 coming from the Scribes Rugby Football Club.
- 聽聽 Improved spectator seating at Beaconsfield, Champlain Heights, Douglas, Montgomery and Norquay softball fields for $25,000
- 聽聽 Permanent player shelters at Hamber, Jericho, Memorial South, Point Grey, Trillium and Van Tech artificial turf fields for $275,000.
The park board voted unanimously in favour for funding these upgrades.
Vision park board commissioner Aaron Jasper said the improvements were not only basic but also 鈥渓ong overdue.鈥�
鈥淎 lot of the supporting infrastructure for our sports fields were either in desperate need of upgrades or in many case just weren鈥檛 adequate to begin with,鈥� said Jasper.
鈥淲e had a few organizations that wanted to step forward and contribute. That鈥檚 a pretty resounding endorsement when they contribute their own resources to the projects.鈥� Certain upgrades will allow clubs to host tournaments and also shelter athletes from the rain.
At Hastings Park, for example, the little league was planning to install portable washrooms for the national tournament because the existing toilets, which are attached to the concession, may still function but are unpleasant and could not readily accommodate large crowds, said Jasper.
鈥淭hey were going to basically shut down the washroom and get port-a-potties,鈥� he said.
鈥淎ll of those little things may not be not sexy, but they really have a positive impact on everyone being able to get out there and be active. This reflects on all of us.鈥�
