More Teams, More Games in Store for Ankeny Little League

As more and more kids each year register to be in Ankeny Little League, the new teams are running out of space to play.

But a joint project between the city of Ankeny and the Ankeny Little League Association could prevent that from happening, said Bob Peters, president of Ankeny Little League.

The Ankeny City Council is expected to accept a bid at its Aug. 1 meeting to construct field lights on six Little League fields within the . The $495,000 project marks one of several improvements to the complex identified by the Ankeny City Council almost 14 years ago.

But the improvements will benefit community members well into the future.

“We’re out of field space so by putting up these lights we can double the amount of games we play,” Peters said. “The way (this project) has materialized since a month ago and now the council has approved it…the possibility of it not happening now is very remote.”

A master plan for Prairie Ridge Sports Complex, which opened in 2002, was created in the late 1990s and approved by the council in 1997. Field lighting was a part of that plan, said Ankeny Public Relations Director Deb Dyar.

The city has made a series of prioritized improvements over the years as part of the plan, including the addition of a playground, restrooms and storage facilties.

Plans to install lights on the fields used by Ankeny Little League and Ankeny Girls Softball have been in the works for several years, Peters said. A year ago, the two groups told the council they were ready to proceed. Softball went first in 2010 and received lights on four of six fields at Prairie Ridge.

Little League was next. Both groups have to split the cost of the project with the city, which is paying for its half through the city hotel/motel tax. Peters said Little League will pay for its half through the sale of concessions at games and fundraisers.

Lighting had become a big priority, Peters said. This year, Ankeny Little League had 1,305 kids registered to play on 118 teams.

“The population in our league is such that we’re running out of space to play the games we need for the number of teams we have,” he said. “With these lights, we will be able to play games at night.”

Once the lights are installed this fall, Peters said Little League will be mindful of school hours when its required to schedule night games.

This year was the first 6-year-old Maxwell McSweeney participated in T-ball through Ankeny Little League. His mom, Sara, said lighting wasn’t an issue this year.

“The latest game for T-ball starts at 6 p.m. and lasts an hour,” she said. “During the spring and summer months, it wasn’t a concern for us.”

But as Maxwell gets older, she said she knows the lights will come in handy for both him and Ankeny Little League.

“It will allow Ankeny Little League to grow and set itself apart from other leagues that don’t have this feature,” she said. “I think (it also will be) a good idea for the safety of the players if a game goes long.”