A proposed baseball complex in Blenheim is rounding first.
Council approved purchasing approximately 32 acres of land at 9267 Allison Line in Blenheim for $1,550,000, with the intent to build a $16.7 million, four diamond baseball complex along with a Public Utilities Commission reservoir.
The land purchase will be funded from the Hydro One Community Benefit Fund and the Public Utilities Commission Water Facilities Lifecycle Reserve. The intent of the South Kent Ball Diamond Complex will be to meet the increasing demand for playing space in South Kent.
“We’ve got 35 teams in the league and we play all over Chatham-Kent. Sometimes it is very hard to find diamonds to use for everybody,” said Councillor Ryan Doyle.
“It’s been an ask for a long time to get more diamonds. And just with the amount of deputations that came in in support of this, this is definitely something that’s needed and the community is behind.”
A total of 41 deputations were submitted for the complex which after the purchase of the land has no timeline on when it would be completed. Administration told council next steps will be to get a detailed design while also applying for grants and sponsorships.
Staff hope the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) will submit their request for proposals (RFP) for the reservoir and booster station in October, with the plan to break ground in the fall of 2027 with commissioning in March 2029.
