Work has begun at Knights Brothers Park in Burk’s Falls to prepare the ball field for the spring 2025 baseball season.
Arenes Construction of Cookstown in Innisfil is carrying out the work which has been a long time coming.
The Toronto Blue Jays donated $50,000 to the Village of Burk’s Falls under its Jays Care program, the Field of Dreams. The municipality is using its reserves to pay for the remainder of the $75,000 project.
Coun. Ryan Baptiste says the reserve fund will be replenished with advertising revenue during the ball season. Baptiste says work includes replacing the old backstop with a higher one.
Arenes Construction co-owner Scottie Scholten says the old fence has also been removed and Muskoka Fence has been subcontracted to install the new fence. Scholten says the four-foot fences in front of both dugouts are being replaced with six-foot- high fences “to better protect the kids.”
The players in both dugouts are getting backless aluminum benches.
The fans can sit on two new bleachers.
Other work includes straightening out the grass line from the foul post to the infield, adding new aggregate for the infield as well some topsoil to level out the holes and divots in the outfield. The refurbishment should be complete by the end of October.
Burk’s Falls hopes to have members of the Jays Care Foundation visit the completed project to see firsthand what their donation helped create. It’s not known when an official recognition event will take place.
Rocco Frangione is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter with Almaguin News. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
