An aerial view of the Crescent Acres diamonds shows the proposed changes to field number two. (Council Agenda Package/City of P.A.)

By Ian Gustafson

P.A. City Council approves sponsorship for project to transform Crescent Acres baseball diamonds

Mar 30, 2022 | 3:00 PM

The Prince Albert Minor Baseball Association’s (PAMBA) under-15 players will soon have a field to call their own after the sponsorships for the Grand Slam Rebuild Campaign was approved at Monday’s city council meeting.

The motion moved by Councillor Blake Edwards and seconded by Councillor Ted Zurakowski was approved with all nine votes in favour of the project.

According to council documents, the City of Prince Albert partnered with PAMBA and developed a plan to renovate the three softball diamonds in Crescent Acres into a baseball park. In August 2021, council approved PAMBA to proceed with the Grand Slam Rebuild Campaign to allow them to get sponsorship deals.

The title sponsor will be Kinsmen Club of Prince Albert, who agreed to provide $10,000 per year for six years and, in return, the Crescent Acres diamonds will be referred to as the Kinsmen Baseball Complex until 2027. The PAMBA has also made a deal for the naming for one of the three fields from Fountain Tire who will contribute $9,000 over three years beginning next year.

They have also got funding from a national sports organization but cannot be named until they announce it first. Another sponsorship is pending and will be made public once it’s complete. In total, the agreements will contribute $69,000 to the project.

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Zurakowski said at Monday night’s meeting the children will be benefiting from the project which will be a wonderful addition to the diamonds.

“Fountain Tire and the Kinsmen Club have been wonderful contributors to our community, and I think they need to be recognized because why? Because again, the kids are going to benefit,” Zurakowski said. “Partnerships mean a lot and I think we need to recognize these two organizations and say thanks.”

The under-15 players haven’t had their own baseball diamond since 2014 when Lew Hobson Field was converted to a softball diamond for the World Junior Softball Championships. Since then they’ve been sharing Andy Zwack Field with the under-18 division using a portable fence that is taken down after each game. This has made it impossible for Prince Albert to host under-15 provincial tournaments since they need two fields.

At the Crescent Acres softball diamonds, the number one and three diamonds will be constructed into under-13 baseball fields, which will require permanent mounds on both fields and new covered dugouts on diamond number three.

Diamond number two will be turned into a regulation sized under-15 field after they reposition the current fence outwards 25 feet. They will also get a mound built and the infield lengthened. This will allow them to host games on regulation sized field and hold more tournaments and regional play.

Two new diamonds will also be created to allow the under-11 division to join the under-15 and 13 clubs in one area.

The project will be split into three phases before it’s completed. Phase one will happen in 2021/2022 and will cost $169,000. Phase two, which will take place in 2023, will cost 512,000. This phase will include lighting, score clocks, press boxes and seating. Phase three will cost $450,000 for the two new under-11 diamonds.

Councillor Edwards said this is going to be an awesome ballpark for the community.

“Baseball is in need of this ballpark and it’s going to be wonderful to see the transformation and finally a U15 diamond in town, which baseball hasn’t had since 2014,” Edwards said. “Big shout out to the Prince Albert Kinsmen Club who continuously come through for the community. I really respect the great bunch of people that are involved. They’ve had some major donations this year, this being one of them and good job on those guys who continue to come through for the community.”

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Ian.Gustafson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @IanGustafson12