Sean C. Morgan
Work on the baseball-softball complex at Roy Johnston Field should be finished in about another month.
The project replaces five ball fields with four better ones. The complex is located on School District 55 property south of Hawthorne Elementary School, 3205 Long St.
Right now, the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Greater Santiam Sweet Home Clubhouse is finishing irrigation installation.
“We just have one field left to do,” said Athletic Director Shari Smith. Afterward, the club will begin raising the backstops, and planners hope to have new grass planted by the end of July or early August.
The club is still seeking a sponsor for the backstop on one boys baseball field, Smith said. The cost is about $4,000. Three are already sponsored.
The work depends on the weather, Smith said. It seems just about every time the club plans on work, it starts raining.
While work is under way, the club is holding its summer baseball and softball games at the Sweet Home High School, Foster Elementary School and Little Promises (Pleasant Valley), Smith said.
Work started in September, around mid-October, Smith said.
“The fields were built probably about 30 years ago,” Smith said, and there hasn’t been a tremendous amount of upkeep. “It was just time for an update.”
On the old fields, about 40 games were rained out last year. The improvements will reduce the number of rainouts.
“We just want a state-of-the-art facility that the kids can be proud of, that the community can be proud of,” Smith said.
If the club is able to execute all of its planned improvements, it should be able to host six to eight baseball tournaments each season in Sweet Home. Most tournaments have at least eight teams competing, but some have up to 12 teams.
The project will cost about $30,000.
For more information about youth baseball and softball or the project, contact the Boys and Girls Club at (541) 367-6421.