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Potential ball diamond project still just 'an idea'

Baseball picture

ST. PAUL - A recreation project that had been put on the back burner for a number of years may be getting a breath of life, following a preliminary proposal being put together in late 2020.

The project is described as a Slo-Pitch Field Complex, according to a proposal and estimate from Cutting Edge Landscaping Ltd., a company based out of Nisku, dated Dec. 18, 2020.

Although the group heading the potential project is "not near ready to bring this preliminary proposal to the (Town of St. Paul) Rec. Board at this point," Town of St. Paul Maureen Miller has offered a little bit of insight on the project. 

She said the idea for the new ball diamonds goes back to 2007/08 when a group of interested citizens looked into the possibility of building new ball diamonds north of the St. Paul soccer fields.

"This group received a quote at that time, but they did not have enough people willing to form a society similar to soccer, to initiate the process, consequently the project never took off," said the mayor. "Last year, after talking to people associated with minor ball, slo-pitch and interested citizens about building new ball diamonds, the group felt there might be renewed interest and decided to proceed and at least peruse the idea again."

The mayor said she understands the group is in the early planning stages and is working on deciding the basics, such as how many diamonds would be built, the size of outfields, washrooms, concession details, playgrounds, and batting cages. 

"They did have a meeting and decided they would apply for society status, tentatively as the 'St. Paul Ball Facilities and Services Society.' As of today this group has not received a society number, but have been in contact with Service Alberta," said Miller.

She also confirmed a company was contacted to deliver a quote for the project, to see if the project would be viable. According to the proposal document, the chosen site would be big enough to house eight ball diamonds. According to the budget overview in the document, the project would cost about $8.5 million to complete.

"This group is only in the first stages of planning and without society status they will be challenged to raise funds," said the mayor.

Gary Ward is a current Town of St. Paul councillor, but he is also involved as a volunteer with St. Paul Minor Ball and the local slo-pitch organization. The proposal put together by Cutting Edge Landscaping has Ward's name attached to it, but Ward affirmed te proposal was not prepared by the Town of St. Paul. 

He confirmed that a group of about 10 people has come together and is planning to take a look at the project. He said there have been talks about new ball diamonds in St. Paul for about 15 years, so, "We're looking at it again."

He acknowledged that the proposal that has been put together is "fairly expensive," but he also doesn't believe a full project would have to be done all at once.

Right now, the group is waiting on its society status from the Government of Alberta, which will open up doors for raising funds for the potential project. Ward also acknowledged that based on information received in the town's recent resident survey, there very well could be other recreation projects that take precedence over new ball diamonds.

Ideas around an outdoor ice rink, and an indoor recreation facility have also been floating around.

Regardless of the idea, every major recreation project in the community has to start somewhere, says Ward. The recent proposal that was put together offers something more concrete to work with, something that is more "than just a dream."

But for now, the project is very much preliminary, according to Ward. "It's an idea."


Janice Huser

About the Author: Janice Huser

Janice Huser has been with the St. Paul Journal since 2006. She is a graduate of the SAIT print media journalism program, is originally from St. Paul and has a passion for photography.
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