Pittsfield Parks Commission OKs Deming Park Dugout Project
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Babe Ruth players will soon have shelter from the elements at Deming Park.
The Parks Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved a dugout project to improve conditions on the large baseball field at the park that is used by 13- to 15-year-olds.
"We've been working over the last several years to try to find some solutions to what we have there now, which is essentially a concrete pad with a bench and chain link fence around it, both the first and third base side," Pittsfield Babe Ruth President David Wildgoose explained.
"It works, I guess, for limited use but when we get to the rainy season we get into inclement weather, the heat of the sun, there's no shelter for the kids, the players, coaches and we're looking for options that could alleviate that."
He added that it is one of the few ballparks in the area that does not have a dugout.
The project is expected to be paid for by the league’s donations and fundraising.
"We've got access to a lot of the materials that will be donated and a lot of the labor so we wouldn't be asking the city for any money to do this," Wildgoose said.
Barry Architects Inc. drew up plans for the dugouts, which will be full concrete walls with posts to support a sheet metal roof. The structures will sit on the existing footprints and will essentially cover no additional space.
Wildgoose said the league has made efforts to separate the players from spectators and families have become accustomed to it.
"We've tried to over the last several years create some separation from the dugouts and the players with the people watching the game, a lot of kids will come down and watch the game and it's a distraction to the players and the coaches," he said.
"So we created some barriers already some windscreens inside the dugout to kind of keep the players separated, that has helped a little bit with that aspect of what we deal with and it's also now, for the last couple years, allowed the patrons that come down to watch the games, the families and so forth, they're kind of accustomed to now that blockage to the field, and so we tried to get them used to that so that we could eventually move into this."
Several options were explored to shield league members from the elements including tarps on really hot days and pop-up awnings. Both options were not feasible, as the tarps break easily and the awnings would have to be taken down every season making them costly.
"We looked at wood structures but we just don't think with that park it's the right material to use," Wildgoose said.
"It's too set back, there's no line of sight from the road to that park, so we just thought that staying away from wood would be the best idea and we got access to the materials at a really good price, free."
According to its website, the city's league is one of the longest continuously running Babe Ruth-affiliated leagues in the nation. The season runs from April to July and there is a countywide fall season.
Wildgoose said Pittsfield Babe Ruth has come a long way in the last few years in trying to make it more of a community league and increasing family involvement.
"We've been pretty successful, both from involvement standpoint, as well as participation standpoint and certainly from a financial standpoint, we've gotten ourselves in a really healthy place, we support between 150 and 200 families every season between spring and fall in the park." he said.
Wildgoose added that he believes the league has done a good job at helping the kids grow into young adults.
Commissioner Michele Matthews said she appreciates the effort, having spent at least a decade at that park with the players not protected from the elements.
She expressed concern for spectator view obstruction and Wildgoose said a good portion of the seating was moved farther down to keep families away from the dugout.
"We didn't want them to get too close to the dugouts where the kids were so we started to see people migrate, I'd say there's probably a dozen spectators in the outfield now if not at every game," he said.
"And we actually moved the bleachers away because we don't want people in the bleachers during COVID, so then last year, like I said, we did more to partition off the dugouts and people just got accustomed to finding different places."
The project will also go before the Conservation Commission to discuss a floodplain impact. Park, Open Space, and Natural Resource Program Manager James McGrath will provide assistance in acquiring a permit.
Commissioner Anthony DeMartino said this is a "long overdue" improvement to the park.
Tags: playing fields, public parks,
