Areas of patchy fog early. Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High 71F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph..
A clear sky. Low 47F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.
The Beecher Muskies, a semipro baseball team from the National Amateur Baseball Federation, take on the Mid-Crest Pumas on June 23 in a Chicago Suburban Baseball League game against the Mid-Crest Pumas at Diamond Point Park in Bourbonnais. READ MORE.
The Beecher Muskies, a semipro baseball team from the National Amateur Baseball Federation, take on the Mid-Crest Pumas on June 23 in a Chicago Suburban Baseball League game against the Mid-Crest Pumas at Diamond Point Park in Bourbonnais. READ MORE.
BOURBONNAIS — A little talking went a long way during a discussion about the future of the Diamond Point Complex.
Officials of the Bourbonnais Township Park District discussed their plans Tuesday for improving the six baseball fields located on the northern edge of the village of Bourbonnais.
They propose replacing the dirt infields with artificial turf.
The cost for upgrading the six baseball fields, however, has far exceeded what officials first believed. The cost for upgrading the diamonds is now in excess of $2 million, rather than the $1 million originally discussed.
As the cost has changed, so has the construction timeline. It now appears new diamonds would not be ready until the 2024 season, at the earliest.
The event took place as part of the meeting of the Economic and Community Development Committee of Bourbonnais.
BTPD Park District Executive Director Ed Piatt was pleased with how the meeting went.
“We told our story and the community told theirs,” Piatt said.
“I think it should be a no-brainer for the need as it brings over $6 million in tourism and tax dollars to the regional partners and the BTPD does not get a cent from those tourism dollars.”
About 60 people attended the meeting.
Those included officials from the villages of Bradley and Bourbonnais, Kankakee County and the Kankakee County Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Those four groups have been asked by the park district to partner with them in funding the proposed project, which had been estimated at $1 million before Tuesday’s meeting.
The park district is asking for $500,000 from the CVB, $250,000 from Kankakee County and $125,000 each from Bradley and Bourbonnais.
Bradley village officials have approved spending the $125,000.
All four government bodies receive sales tax money brought in by the tournaments.
BTPD officials estimate those tournaments pump $6 million annually into the county’s economy.
Niko Ginnakopoulos of BrickStone Brewery said the complex is a big draw, just as Chicago Bears Training Camp was for 18 years when Olivet Nazarene University hosted the team. It brings people from out of town who visit local businesses during their stays.
“It is obviously not just BrickStone,” he said. “We are a big supporter. It is one of the draws that brings people here.”
By installing turf, BTPD officials said it would help cut the district’s $250,000 deficit annually for maintaining the facility and paying the utilities.
BTPD officials said the complex has cost the district and its taxpayers more than $7 million since its purchase in 2010.
BTPD officials updated the project after an engineering firm worked on the cost of putting in the turf.
That price tag came in at $2.1 million for all six fields, according to Ed O’Hara, of CHA Consulting.
The company works nationally on building turf sports fields.
BTPD officials said they propose replacing four infields with turf. O’Hara said that cost would be $1.4 million.
“This is not some crazy idea,” Jarrod Darling, president of the Bourbonnais Braves traveling baseball organization said. “We’re behind the times. Joliet and Rantoul each have turf fields.”
The Inwood Sports Complex in Joliet has six lighted fields for baseball or softball.
Family Sports Complex in Rantoul includes 10 baseball/softball lighted fields of various dimensions.
Darling said this weekend the Braves are taking six teams to a tournament in Indianapolis. The playing surfaces at the complex are all turf.
Darling said traveling teams look to schedule tournaments at facilities featuring turf infields.
“We do a lot of that scheduling in December and January,” he said.
Lack of turf infields has caused teams to shy away from playing in tournaments at Diamond Point Complex.
Another traveling team coach, Rick White, said he had booked teams to play at a tournament in Louisville, Ky.
The teams didn’t play a game because it rained all weekend and the infields were dirt.
“I didn’t do my homework. We shy away from dirt infields. I don’t schedule at Diamond Point,” he said.
Asked if the turf could be installed before next season, O’Hara said no. It is too late to bid out projects, he noted.
The earliest the installation would occur is in 2024, he said.
O’Hara said the company installs 20 to 25 fields annually.
O’Hara explained the turf lasts eight to 10 years. The area around home plate and first baseline need to be replaced every two to three years because they are heavy traffic areas.
Herb Forkenbrock rents Diamond Point fields to host tournaments.
“The one question we get is ‘Do you still have dirt infields?’ “ Forkenbrock said. “This (turf) will bring in money.”
Forkenbrock and the park district recently agreed on a one-year contract for the 2023 season.
The new contract with Forkenbrock’s Ballpark Sports Baseball Inc. of Bourbonnais, runs from April 1 to Aug. 1, 2023.
Piatt said Forkenbrock will pay the district $5,000 per week to use the facility for baseball tournaments. In the previous contract, Forkenbrock paid $3,500 per week.
Piatt said the deal also includes allowing Forkenbrock to host tournaments between Aug. 2 to Oct. 31, 2023, for $5,000 per week.
“The complex offers a lot. Some teams have brought fishing poles and fish in the pond at the complex when they have a break in between games,” Forkenbrock said.
Mike Crews, BTPD’s supervisor of maintenance, talked about his two sons who played on travel baseball teams.
“We traveled to a lot of places. Turf fields are big,” he said. “To get people here and to stay competitive, we have to stay with the times.”
Manteno Mayor and tourism board treasurer Tim Nugent asked Piatt even if they get the funding, if the park district would walk away from the complex.
“We know this brings in tourists’ dollars and is important to all of us. We are in it for the long run,” Piatt said.
At the close of the meeting, Piatt said park district officials plan an update by mid-December.
Jeff Bonty is a reporter for The Daily Journal. He can be reached at jbonty@daily-journal.com and 815-937-3366.
Jeff Bonty has worked for The Daily Journal since September 1986, starting in the sports department before moving to news reporting in 2002. He's a native of Indiana and graduate of Purdue University. His email is jbonty@daily-journal.com.
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.
Please disable your ad blocker, whitelist our site, or purchase a subscription
Would you like to receive local business offers? Sign-up today!
Receive our daily headlines. Sign-up today!
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Invalid password or account does not exist
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.
Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
A receipt was sent to your email.