Triple Play

Dividing a baseball field brings three times as much activity

By Casey Wooddell

“The trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit.” --Moliere, French Playwright

 In Oxford, Ohio, this quote fits well for a field-renovation project that’s been ongoing for nearly half a decade and has finally wrapped up. Divvying up one adult softball field into three youth baseball and softball diamonds is almost as exciting as a triple play in youth baseball.  

© Can Stock Photo / tammykayphoto

The process began in 2018 when staff members of Oxford Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) discussed how to increase the number of fields available for youth baseball and softball. Going back nearly two decades, when the Oxford Community Park (OCP) was designed, the master plan included eight ball diamonds. However, due to an increase in soccer, the second phase of ball diamonds was never completed. As with many other Midwest locations, soccer in Oxford is played from March to October, while youth baseball and softball are primarily spring sports. The decision regarding additional ball diamonds was logical, which allowed youth soccer to grow; however, youth baseball and softball were then left looking for additional field space. 

So, for nearly 15 years, the local Miami Little League and OPRD relied on fields owned by other organizations. However, there was one main difference between the fields located at OCP and the other fields. Fields at the community park are maintained and funded by the city. The other fields are maintained mostly by volunteers with no dedicated source of funding, often relying on funds from the non-profit Little League, the only user of the facilities. Although it was working, it wasn’t ideal.   

A New Focus

The same question continued to surface over the years as to how better serve the demand for more youth baseball and softball fields. But on one random day the tape measures and notepads rolled out, and the brainstorming session was in full swing. What if one large field was reconstructed into three youth fields? After all, adult softball had been on the decline for about 10 years in Oxford, while youth sports had remained steady.

There were five primary objectives identified to accomplish with this project:

1. Increase facility usage. This is the obvious outcome. By creating three fields in the same footprint as one previous field, OPRD can triple its game play.

2. Improve convenience for families. Families with multiple children often found themselves split between OCP and other field locations on opposite sides of the city. Adding more fields at OCP allows more families to have children playing at one centralized location.

3. Boost revenue. While the costs are low, there is still a fee to use the fields for gameplay. More fields result in more revenue. Additionally, more games lead to more people visiting the concession stand. Concessions revenues are up 52 percent from 2022 to 2023. Maintaining athletic fields is expensive, but these steady revenue sources help offset the costs.

4. Develop age-appropriate fields. Let’s not forget that playing youth sports is about making memories and having fun. When 6- to 12-year-old kids are playing ball with 300-foot fences, long ball memories will never happen. Homeruns are a part of the game, so creating smaller fields has already led to kids creating memories they’ll never forget, and they have the homerun balls on the trophy cases in their rooms to prove it. This is true not only for local kids, but for visiting teams that play in Oxford as well.

5. Host tournaments to bring in visitors. Economic impact is an area in which OPRD has focused on more in recent years. Youth-sports tournaments bring fans. Visitors shop and visitors eat. Here, in Oxford, over 70 percent of the population is college students who don’t reside here in the summer. Anything to bring additional visitors to patronize local businesses is beneficial. These businesses pay money to have their names on the front of team jerseys and banners hanging on outfield fences. Hosting events to bring people to their businesses is only helping complete the circle of support.

City of Oxford

After several months of measuring and planning—and measuring again—and measuring yet again, the plan was finalized. The finished project would divide one adult field with 300+-foot homerun fences into three youth fields suitable for a variety of 8U, 10U, and 12U play. One field is 125 to 140 feet, while the other two are 150 to 180 feet. The plan was approved by the recreation board, as well as Miami Little League, to ensure the new field sizes would meet their needs. It was go time!

The Game Plan

Renovation began in fall 2019, when the homerun fence of the original field was removed by city staff in order to offset costs. A portion of the fence was then re-used and became the new homerun fence for the first of three fields (Field 4), but instead of being 300 feet away, the new fence was 125 to 140 feet—a suitable size for 8U players. This left the open space necessary to begin the construction of the next two fields. The following spring, installation of new backstops for Fields 5 and 6 began in the left field and right field corners of the original field, setting the stage for the three-field layout. In spring 2021, the infield dirt, dugouts, and foul fences were completed for Field 5, allowing that field to be utilized for the 2021 season. Big strides occurred in 2022. Field 5 was completed in spring 2022 with the installation of a homerun fence. This was followed by the installation of dugouts and foul fences for Field 6. Even though the infield dirt wasn’t yet completed on Field 6, Miami Little League used this all-grass field that season for T-ball games. For those familiar with T-ball, not having dirt on a field for kids to dig in, kick around, throw in the air, and sometimes even eat worked out quite well! Later, in 2022, infield dirt was installed, and then the homerun fence followed in spring 2023, nearly completing the project. As of April 2023, OCP officially had six youth baseball and softball fields available for use. Nearly all this work was done by professional contractors, other than installing the dugout benches, which was completed by OPRD staff.

Teamwork Makes The Dream Work

One of the most important factors in completing this project was the partners. This plan had the support of not only Miami Little League, but other local organizations. The total project cost nearly $80,000. OPRD knew from the beginning the city budget wasn’t going to support the total cost, which is part of the reason the project occurred in small phases over four budget cycles. However, nearly half of the total cost was funded by three main partnerships:

• Miami Little League—$22,000

• The Oxford Community Foundation—$12,000

• The Oxford Rotary Club—$5,000

In the end, nearly 50 percent of the total costs came from partnerships. Like many other communities, Oxford is blessed with service organizations looking for positive ways to give back to the youth of the community.

The Finishing Touches

Only a few minor touches are still needed. Fields 5 and 6 need bleachers. The park has bleachers from other fields that will be moved to serve the new fields. The dugouts for the new fields also need trash receptacles, which will be repurposed from other locations within the park where they are not needed. Repurposing items—including fencing—has saved approximately $10,000.

Highly Recommended

Do you need more baseball or softball space? Do you have a field that can be better utilized? Renovating from four fields to six doesn’t sound like a big change, but it’s a 50 percent increase in usage, has already positively affected concessions sales, and has allowed multiple youth tournaments to be hosted. It’s taken nearly five years, but it’s been well worth it.

Casey D. Wooddell, CPRP, CPO, is the Director for the Oxford Parks and Recreation Department in Oxford, Ohio. Reach him at (513) 523-6314, or cwooddell@cityofoxford.org.