It’s taken a lot of work but the Veterans Field renovation is moving along right on schedule.
Brian O’Sullivan is with TDI International AG Inc. which is responsible for the project.
He says the renovations came with a few surprises early on.
“Our biggest challenge was not knowing what was underneath before we started digging into it,” said O’Sullivan.
“We basically hit every utility basically you could imagine, luckily enough it was all switched off.”
But despite a few of those glitches early on, the weather has cooperated as the progress for the $500,000 renovation nears completion.
A ball field that once struggled with drainage issues in the past will be transformed into a field that will need irrigation due to the effective drainage system installed underneath both the grass outfield and the clay and turf infield.
“We basically put down a category two outfield surface for this field so we have got drain lines every three meters and it’s a two-inch perf pipe and as soon as the water will hit the surface it will go down through it and it will be off the field,” O’Sullivan explained.
Dave Schroeder is the Manager of Parks for the City of North Bay. He says the drainage will be so efficient that even after a torrential rainfall, the field should be able to recover and be ready for baseball the next day.
“I know the baseball associations have been looking for a true baseball field with a grass infield for a number of years and this ball field has always had a drainage issue so I think this is going to end up being a wonderful baseball facility for use and visiting teams are going to become very jealous,” said Schroeder.
The newly renovated field is expected to be complete by September.
