Local Parents, Community Members Raising Money for Field Renovations

The community might notice some changes around the baseball and softball fields starting in the spring.

Resurfaced infields. New drainage systems. New bases. New home plates.

The key? It won’t cost taxpayers a single dollar.

The renovations will cost about $225,000, said Paul Longville. Most of the funding—$140,000 over five years—is coming from the . Booster President Dave Best said these renovations are the boosters' major project for the year.

Longville, a member of the booster club and parent to three Brecksville-Broadview Heights graduates, is helping to oversee the project. The fundraising drive is being run by an independent group of community members, alumni and parents.

The fundraising drive kicked off at the beginning of February, and Longville said they hope to raise enough to completely pay for the project by the end of 2012. The group still needs to raise about $52,000.

The renovations will begin in the spring and also wrap up by the end of the year.

The softball field will be resurfaced, new bases will be in place and new sod will be put in the sidelines before the girls begin the season in April. The baseball field renovations, which are more extensive, will take place during the summer and fall. The field will be moved out about 30 feet and everything will be re-graded. Both fields will have new drainage systems in place to help with those rainy Ohio days.

“The conditions of the fields had deteriorated over time,” Longville said.

The project has its own website with more details on the planned renovations and a page where people can donate online. Donations are tax deductible, Longville said.

The website will also feature photos of the renovations, and the group plans to use social media, like Facebook and Twitter, to promote the project as much as possible.