Ag diamonds could go under inspection
By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter
Adelle Ellis Photo
General manager of the ag society, Herb McLane, brought the idea of investing in a feasibility study to the attention of Strathmore town council during last week’s meeting.
“We proposed to the town this week about a partnership between the Town of Strathmore, the community and the ag society… would it make sense to initiate a study to identify the matters that come out of the expressed need for greater capacity and at the same time look at how those needs would be addressed,” said McLane.
Currently, there four ball fields making up a quadrant west of the rodeo grounds. The fields are home to teams of every age group in the Strathmore Thunder, along with the mosquito and peewee programs for the Strathmore Minor Baseball Association.
“Just to be clear, we are in the early days for this proposal idea. We have a lot of other things on the go and we don’t have all the answers for this yet,” said McLane.
The group that will carry out the feasibility study has yet to be determined, but an early estimation on cost is anywhere between $20,000 and $25,000.
Some items that have popped up in community conversation over the past year about the diamonds are improving the use of the area, the addition of lights and even lengthening the fences on the fields.
“We have suggested things in the past like installing sprinklers for the infield. We think that they would be an easy and cost-effective addition, seeing as there are already sprinklers in the outfield,” said Strathmore Thunder president Lanky Johnson.
Upgrades to the facility could attract provincial and national tournament play.
“Adding lights isn’t a huge need, but it would help bring bigger tournaments to Strathmore like westerns or nationals, which would be great for the sport and also help out the local economy,” said Johnson.
With softball, fastball and baseball teams playing at the ag diamonds, a change to the playing dimensions would be a tricky one, seeing as the different sports and different age groups use different sized fields. The younger programs use shorter base paths, fences and a shorter distance from the pitching rubber, while Thunder teams competing at the U16 and U19 need the bigger fields and longer base paths to accommodate their growth as athletes.
“We don’t think there is a drastic need for improvements. We think the outfield could use some work. It’s a little uneven in spots and needs some work, but that’s about all I can think of,” said Strathmore Minor Baseball Association president Trevor Jensen. “I think that the quad setup that they have now is great for hosting games on the weekend, (be it) baseball or softball.”
Jensen also presented a few possible changes to the Kinsmen Park ball park over a month ago, but has not heard of any progress at this point, as they currently wait for larger grants to become available.
Every action has a reaction, and any changes to the diamond could possibly affect the rodeo grounds or the campground. All of that will be taken into account during the feasibility study which, if approved, would begin sometime this fall and run into 2019.
“The rodeo sports command a need for lots of space, along with the camping and parking spots to accommodate the athletes. We need to see how changes to the diamond would impact those other aspects of the grounds,” said McLane. “We might also find out a better way to run the campground and parking lot.
“There are many questions to be answered.”
Improvements to the recreational facilities around town are ongoing processes. The ag society for one is taking the necessary steps to see if there are plausible upgrades for the ag diamonds.
“We just want to push the thought along and take it to the next level. If the community needs this, I think we can be an asset to help make it happen,” said McLane.