The Town of Altona and Altona Minor Baseball (AMB) have teamed up to give the community’s baseball diamonds a major makeover.
This fall, the AMB executive committee presented an ambitious plan to town council that will see multiple improvements to the Centennial Park diamonds. Town council gave the plan the thumbs up and offered their support by providing tax-deductible receipts for donations made towards the project.
Minor ball will also work closely with the Town’s finance manager to ensure that sufficient funds are secured before embarking on any expenditures, guaranteeing that all project costs are fully covered.
AMB president Donovan Bergman says they are excited to create a more formal connection with the Town on the upgrades in the park.
“Our executive has a number of plans for the diamonds—both short and long term—and this agreement will help smooth out fundraising and payments to vendors.”
Bergman says the AMB has always appreciated the support from the Altona Recreation Department when it comes to preparations for their regular season and tournaments and looks forward to continuing that partnership.
“Since diamond maintenance and upgrade costs are covered by AMB, this new agreement allows for both individuals and local businesses to support our program and receive a tax receipt as well,” he says. “It’s a win-win in our minds and sets us up to continue having some of the best amateur baseball diamonds in the province for years to come.”
Immediate priorities for this initiative include upgrading the batting cages to prolong the life of the netting. Amongst the plans, some of which may be a bit further down the road would include for Diamond 1 to undergo safety enhancements, including new safety netting in the outfield and padded railings in the dugouts.
Recreation services manager Eric Hildebrand says they would also like to add some plastic material to the outfield fencing consisting of yellow drain tile for visibility and safety.
“As well, the dugout roofs have green metal sheeting that’s showing some wear and tear. They want to replace that with an Altona Bisons blue colour to match their colour scheme.”
The damaged benches in the visitor’s dugout will be replaced, Hildebrand says, ensuring a safer and more comfortable environment.
Looking ahead to 2024 and beyond, the project will focus on fence maintenance and upgrades, alongside the addition of new player benches for Diamonds 2, 3, and 4. The baseball shelter between all four diamonds will also undergo general fixes. Clay bricks will be procured for pitcher’s mounds and batters’ boxes, and more clay will be utilized for the infields. Yellow drain tile will also grace the outfield fencing, further enhancing the park’s overall aesthetics and functionality.
“A longer-term goal would be for Altona Minor Baseball to be looking at upgrading the Diamond 1 infield so that it’s more usable for younger age groups, as well,” Hildebrand adds. “Right now, it’s set up for the U18 age level, and they would like to make it more suitable to also be used for U15 groups. This would require digging out the base paths to be bigger, bringing them closer to home plate.”
He notes that AMB has had a successful run over the last number of years of hosting large tournaments at the younger children’s level by maximizing three of the four diamonds at the park.
“What they’re hoping to do is make some changes to make some improvements in several areas and eventually to Diamond 1 that would also allow that diamond to be utilized by more age groups as well, further allowing all the facilities to be maximized. When that happens, it also allows Altona Minor Baseball a lot more opportunities to host various provincial tournaments, games, and events.”
Hildebrand says it should also be noted that while these proposed improvements to the facilities inside the Centennial Park are being planned by Altona Minor Baseball, the Altona Angels Softball organization deserve to be applauded as well for their recent efforts of making some key upgrades to facilities on Borderland School Division owned properties.
These improvements included resurfacing both softball diamonds at W.C. Miller Collegiate with fresh clay material as well as upgrading one of the diamonds at École Parkside to a full clay infield, and some clay material to one of the diamonds at École West Park School.
“The Altona Angels organization completed this work late this summer with cooperation and financial assistance from W.C. Miller as well as funds from their organization and supporters of the Angels Softball program.
“It’s just fantastic to see the local grassroots sports organizations working within their organization and together with local stakeholders to not only want to make some improvements to the facilities their organizations use, but to be organized, prepared, and have crews of volunteers to assist with the projects.”
Hildebrand observes the proposed Centennial Park upgrades are not just about baseball—it’s about nurturing a sense of community and shared support.
“Upgrading the diamonds at the Centennial Park as well as facilities on school owned land will benefit the community for generations to come. Whether it’s for baseball, softball, soccer or even residents enjoying some recreational cricket, we know that outdoor recreation is highly sought after in our community and that’s just another example of what makes our community a great place to live.”
