LAC LA BICHE - The ball diamonds at the Bold Center sports fields and the the multi-use playing field will get their grass cover in the coming days.
The baseball and softball diamonds are expecting sod be delivered on June 7, says Darrell Lessmeister, the associate CAO of Recreation and Community Services for the County.
The arrival of the sod was postponed until irrigation systems could be tested and confirmed operational, after last-minute corrections were made to the larger baseball diamond, allowing for longer baselines. The infield expansion affected some ground infrastructure that was already in place.
The arrival of next week’s grass shipment will finish off the ground cover portion of the project as natural turf and areas seeded last year are already getting rooted.
The artificial turf on the full-size football field has been getting some use in the last few weeks, with school classes and community rentals available.
“We have actually got kids onto the artificial turf,” said Lessmeister. “The school is using it and we are very pleased to see that.”
The overall project that has been in the hands-on planning stages for more than three years, includes the ball diamonds, football field, a running track, spectator stands, washroom facilities, a playing field and a campsite. There is also room in the design for additional features as needed. The price tag for the project is more than $14 million.
The project has had its share of headaches after a design and planning error caused a baseball diamond at the sports field to be expanded from a 70-foot infield to a 90-foot infield to accommodate adult-level baseball games.
Summarizing the excitement over the nearly complete project and a need to generate activities in the summer months, Lac La Biche County Mayor Omer Moghrabi said, “The sooner we get the (COVID-19) numbers down and we open up. I'm hoping to have a good summer and more events.”
