Weiss Field Concession Stand On Budget

To most people, $150,000 isn’t chump change.

But Jon Leonard, Avon Lake Youth Baseball Federation president, sees it both ways.

“We’re still in the same ballpark that we anticipated,” Leonard said of the projected budget of the concession stand complex his federation is building at Weiss Field, slated to be completed by opening day this May.

The building, which Leonard described as “state of the art” last July, will have two 450 sq. ft. pavilions, bathrooms, a storage room, a multi-purpose room for umpires to change and an electrical room with the capacity to add a lighting and irrigation system to the fields in the future.

But even though the project is on budget, Leonard said the ALYBF, a 501(c)3 organization serving about 1,300 kids each summer, is launching a “Buy-A-Brick” fundraising effort to offset the cost of constructing the building, which the Federation plans to donate to the City of Avon Lake once it’s completed.

“We can fit about 350 bricks in front of each pavilion,” Leonard said.

The bricks, available in a 4-by-8 inch brick or an 8-by-8 inch paver, are customizable and run $100 and $200, respectively.

“We want to get a lot of them in there before opening day,” he said.

Leonard said construction on the building is moving along quickly, noting the roof should be ready to put on the structure this week.

But there are more plans in store for the building.

“Part of the new construction is the creation of an ALBYF Hall of Fame,” Leonard said.

The hall of fame will honor community members who volunteered substantial time and effort to the construction of the new fields and concession stand, as well as athletes who have “made it to the next level, both in their professional and sports lives,” Leonard said.

But just who to honor could get a little tricky, because the ALYBF has been around for 60 years, but the organization only has information back to 40 years or so.

Leonard said the organization is looking for people who have knowledge of youth baseball or softball athletes in Avon Lake in the last 60 years.

"Anyone who knows anybody who they think should be on the wall can email me," Leonard said.

In case you're wondering, his email address is alybfpresident@wowway.com.