After a lengthy research period, the City recently awarded a bid to replace the natural playing surfaces on the infields and foul lines for all 25 baseball and softball fields at Snowden Grove and Greenbrook Parks with artificial turf.  FieldTurf Inc., who has a resume that includes work for many professional and college stadiums, has already begun construction on this $5,583,310.13 project, which will provide the most modern technology available in artificial playing surfaces.  Specifically, this turf has the most advanced technology for making the speed and bounce of a batted ball like natural surfaces as well as a cooling technology to minimize the drastic heat difference with artificial turf.

For many years, Snowden Grove and Greenbrook Parks have set the standard for youth baseball and softball facilities.  The addition of “turf” will continue to make our city the top choice in youth sports venues for many years to come.  This is purely a business decision by the City.  Most competing parks in our region have already converted to turf and we must give our customers what they want.  Tourism is a major component of our economic success with baseball and softball producing approximately $12 million annually in total dollars spent in our city and total economic impact of approximately $25 million annually.  Replacing the natural infields will save approximately $216,000 annually in labor costs for maintenance and add an estimated $350,000 annually in direct revenue to the City by eliminating tournament rain-outs and lost revenues from teams changing venues due to a rainy forecast.  Obviously, eliminating these rain-outs adds tremendously to the indirect economic benefits also by keeping the teams coming to our city and patronizing our businesses. Additionally, as with all of our park amenities, this new turf will add enjoyment for our recreational league players as well.

 This project is projected to be finished before the first tournaments in March, 2021.  Go ahead and get ready to book Snowden Grove and Greenbrook Parks for your tourneys in 2021!