Prince Albert Gets World Class Diamonds
/ GPLS.ca | 3:50 P
Prince Albert Gets World Class Diamonds
Normally softball teams and organizations don’t like to think ahead, but rather take it a day at a time. However, in Prince Albert, it can be forgiven if they are patiently waiting for the calendar to get to June.
Through Project Triple Play, Prince Alberta has been able to successfully raise $1.5 million to help construct a new diamond and expand a second one at Prime Ministers Park, giving them four diamonds to play on, which comes perfectly in time for their hosting duties in 2018, when they will hold the WBSC World Junior Men's Softball Championships.
“It will have lights, be regulation 250 feet and the second diamond has been expanded to 250 feet all the way around,” said Bruce Vance, a committee member of Project Triple Play. “Both the new diamond and the old diamond will be regulation for the (World Junior Men’s Softball Championships).”
The entire complex, renamed Max Power Ball Parks at Prime Ministers Park, now features four diamonds with lights on three fields, while each of the four diamonds have also been renamed: Rotary Field (new diamond), Kinsmen Field (formerly PMP#2), Optimist Field (formerly PMP #1) and Shaye Amundson Field (formerly PMP#3).
From an organization standpoint, Vance said the new fields with lighting will only enhance what they can host in Prince Albert, as they have held multiple Girls Prairie League Softball weekends in 2011, 2013 and 2015.
Senior teams are now looking to host weekends of their own, expanding the softball programs on both the men’s and women’s side of the game, while also giving the minor teams better opportunities.
“It just enhances what we can do,” said Vance. “We could host GPLS weekends here and in theory have games under the lights on Friday and Saturday, giving softball players that experience, which is one of the sought-after elements in softball to play under the lights.”
With the Worlds already scheduled, Vance said the door is wide open to the type of events Prince Albert can host, because not only do they have a world standard facility, they also have a strong volunteer base, which is heavily called upon to host large national events.
“I’m excited about what this expansion and the amount of money the group has been able to fundraise is going to be able to open the doors for,” said Vance.
Funding through Project Triple play was helped through grants and major sponsorship, which has included monetary donations and in-kind work done to help get the park and new diamond ready for the Worlds in 2018.
It’s been a labour-intensive process over the last year and a half, but with a June 1 completion date, Prince Albert is close to seeing the fruits of their labour.
And with the new expansion, Prince Albert and their softball teams, the Aces, hope to be the home of softball on the eastern front for GPLS.
“From a GPLS standpoint, it gives the league a great home in the eastern part of the league’s boundary,” said Vance. “Hopefully Prince Albert and the Aces will be able to host tournaments regularly here in the years to come and hopefully host some of the bigger weekends here. We sure would like to host All-Star weekend or have the championship weekend. We now have the facilities for that. We’re excited that it’s just going to grow the sport of softball.”
If you have an interesting softball story to share, please email a.brethauer@gpls.ca
