On its surface a baseball diamond is like any other place where a sporting event takes place. Theoretically it’s a backstop, four bases in the shape of a diamond, some infield dirt, foul lines, and a patch of grass.
A baseball diamond can also be much more than that when time and effort are put in. Few things are more aesthetically pleasing than an occupied baseball diamond on a summers day. That’s why the Rocanville Minor Ball board decided it was time for an upgrade after years of having subpar facilities.
“Our ball fields are quite disastrous, especially compared to the nice fields in Moosomin, but really compared to any town in the area,” said Rocanville Minor Ball’s Mike Nelson. “They’re by and far the worst that are out there, that’s just a fact. So, we’ve been talking about it for a couple years about how we need to do something. Then this year we decided we actually need to do something. We drew up some plans, threw out some ideas of what we’d like to do, made up a budget, and then started making some phone calls and writing letters to businesses.
“They’ve been quite receptive to it and we’re probably 80 per cent to our fundraising goal. We still have to hear from a couple other businesses. We were really honestly thinking this would take a couple of years or maybe we would get to do one diamond next summer and the other the summer after. But its been really well received.”
Instead of just talking about what needed to be done to have a diamond, Nelson says, they needed to step up and kick the project into gear.
“Basically we knew something needed to be done and had discussed it for a couple years,” he said. “You sit around and talk about something forever and then finally it’s just, ‘okay we need to actually try to do something.’ It’s pretty much going to be two brand new diamonds.
“Really all that’s out there right now is a backstop, some benches for a dugout, and grass. We’re going to do a whole new fence, new infields, we’re bringing in some shale—it’s going to be a shale and grass infield—new dugouts built into the fence. Those are all the big things, but of course there’s also all the little things you’ve got to buy like bases and pitching plates and all that stuff adds up in a hurry.”
Although the fundraising plan and project only recently came together, Nelson says, the support has been overwhelming and they’re on pace to hit their goal far before they originally expected.
“The budget goal for us was $80,000,” he said. “We’re about 80 per cent there right now. Fundraising started about five or six weeks ago. We were so amazed with the local businesses and we even reached out to some of the not so local businesses. Everybody has been so supportive.
“We’re looking at, depending on contractor availability, maybe being able to start building by the end of August. We got a couple big donations that came in which really helped a lot, Nutrien came in with a substantial one and that really boosted the fundraising. But even some smaller businesses and even personal donations too, I was surprised. There’s just been so much support.”
“Our original plan was to probably build one diamond next summer after the ball season,” he said. “Then probably the other diamond would have been after that. But now, we might even have both new diamonds ready to go for the spring. It’s been great how quickly it’s coming together.”
Improving the baseball diamond can bring much more to Rocanville than just better quality of play, says Nelson, with an upgraded diamond allowing for the town to host tournaments which then brings people from out of town to local businesses.
“Even look at Fleming, they’ve only got one diamond, but it’s a nice diamond,” he said. “Having a nice diamond just adds so much. We’ve had to pass on hosting tournaments because we don’t meet the qualifications to host those now with what we’ve got. They wouldn’t even allow us to have one if we put our name in. Now, even on the business end, this can help by getting more people into town and it can benefit the town getting people more familiar with it and giving them an excuse to come to Rocanville.
“Moosomin is a great example of that when you build some nice diamonds. Look at the ball fields in the summer time, there’s always people down there and they were scheduled to have seven or eight tournaments this summer (before Covid-19) between the leagues and provincials and they were going to get the senior men’s and there was going to be a lot of people coming through Moosomin to play ball this summer.”
Nelson says, when the fundraising goal is hit and the project can get underway, Rocanville Minor Ball is going to make it a priority to give those who helped them their recognition.
“A lot of these awesome businesses in Rocanville and Moosomin donate money, supplies, and time and then you don’t necessarily hear about what they’ve done to make those projects happen,” he said. “That’s one thing we’ve been talking about as a board, how are we going to make sure these businesses and people that have helped us out get their recognition. We want to make sure people know that this wouldn’t have happened without them.”
