The Kiwanis soccer fields on Tweedsmuir Avenue in Chatham have been selected as the location of choice for a proposed new baseball diamond.
The Field of Dreams committee has been given the municipality’s approval to raise funds for the capital costs of the project with a 12-6 vote Monday night.
The committee, made up of representatives from Chatham Minor Baseball Association and the Chatham Sports Hall of Fame, is looking at building a new diamond for players aged 14 plus and Challenger Baseball programs. The group hopes to raise approximately $2.5 million in capital costs for the new field.
Conor Allin praised the Field of Dreams committee for their efforts. He said the decision to create a new diamond at the Kiwanis soccer field property, located between Fergie Jenkins Field and Chatham Memorial Arena is a “no-brainer.”
“You’re looking at adding large-scale tournaments to Chatham-Kent, which we haven’t seen before,” Allin said, touting the benefits to the economy.
Mayor Darrin Canniff also spoke out in favour of deciding on the location of the new ball field.
“(If) somebody is going to go out and raise $2.5 million for us, we have got to support them,” Canniff said. “Because if we don’t support them tonight they are going to say, wow Chatham-Kent really doesn’t want to support this, and the momentum we have got right now could really disappear.”
Now that council has approved the Kiwanis soccer field as the committee’s preferred new location for a new baseball diamond, the next step is to have design work on the new field. That design will come back to council to be approved in the future.
Some councillors were concerned about the loss of a soccer field.
“I think we’re rushing this a little bit. We haven’t talked to as many user groups as we should,” said councillor Ryan Doyle.
A report from administration said with the anticipated loss of the Kiwanis soccer field, there could be a future rugby/soccer pitch to be constructed at the new Regional Park along Bear Line Road by 2027.
An analysis of the municipality’s long-term soccer needs will be done in the Parks & Recreation Master Plan.