Fox Lake ball diamonds nearly complete
Jennifer Brookens — Staff Writer
POSTED: June 19, 2008
WELCOME — Eight years of work on the Fox Lake “Field of Dreams” is almost complete. And just in time, as the grant for the project runs out at the end of this year.
“The project overall has been going great,” said Mark Stoffel of the Fox Lake Area Sports Commission. “Things always move slower than you want, but then again, slow and steady wins the race.”
The ball diamonds now located behind Kortes Bar and Grill by County Road 26 were created in response to the former Welcome Ball Diamonds being located too close to the railroad tracks, and being a danger once the trains began increasing their speeds.
As they began planning the new ball diamonds, the Fox Lake commission received a $125,000 matching grant for the project. But one of the conditions of the grant is to complete the project this year.
“We’re waiting on final approval of the plumbing for the restrooms and concession stands,” Stoffel said. “The dugout roofs are being completed, along with the backstop for second base. Then we also need the handicap access paths. That’s part of the requirement to have handicapped access from the parking lot to the ball diamonds, to the concession stands and restrooms.”
The ball diamond complex is now used by the Martin County West baseball and softball teams, along with other leagues such as CER Co-Ed and the Fox Lake Foxes held during the summer. There are also tournaments scheduled to be held at the ball diamond complex.
“We will finish up this summer,” Stoffel said. “We do need more money, but we are in the planning stages for another fund-raiser.”
Donations can be mailed to the Fox Lake Area Sports Commission, Box 238, Welcome, MN 56181, or by contacting Stoffel at Welcome State Bank.
“Some nights, we already have ball play on three of the ball diamonds,” Stoffel said. “There’s a sense of satisfaction seeing the past eight years of work paying off.”
