Richmond City Baseball (RCBA) didn’t suddenly stumble upon $600,000 but this is probably the next best thing.
The growing association, which featured nearly 550 players last season, has reached an agreement with the City of Richmond to operate and manage the concession at the Palmer/Garden City Neighbourhood School Park. It will be the new home to Richmond City Baseball’s grassroots levels — ranging from U5 Blastball to U9 Tadpole.
The 17-year-old facility, that includes six diamonds configured around a field house, had been operated by the Richmond Boys Fastball Association, which contributed $50,000 to the initial building cost. However, their current numbers and age of players makes a full-time move to the Steveston Ball Park more suitable. Dialogue between the two organizations began last year when RCBA asked if it could use the facility to host B.C. Minor Baseball’s U11 Championships.
“The success of our provincials and seeing that amount of people there, that’s where our conversation started,” recalled RCBA president John Braaten. “Of course we had to go to the city with an application at the same time Richmond Boys Fastball wrote a formal letter saying it no longer needed it.”
The city approached Richmond Girls Softball about its interest in the facility before council gave the agreement with RCBA final approval last month. The complex remains available for all user groups, from adult slo-pitch to youth programs. The RCBA will make daily use of three diamonds for games.
The additional venue greatly enhances RCBA’s longterm vision which was providing proper hubs for all its divisions.
The association had approached the city last year regarding the re-development of its Whiteside/South Arm Park location to include, concession, washrooms and reconfiguation of the diamonds. The price came back at $600,000.
“The long term plan is to still rebuild Whiteside which will continued to be used for practices,” continued Braaten. “But that type of money is going to take a long time as a non-profit organization. (Blundell/Palmer) meets to what we have been working towards the last couple of years. We want somewhere for five-year age groups to take ownership of a facility. “Before they had to play at Dixon and Grauer (diamonds).”
The RCBA will now be operating concessions at four city parks this coming season, with Palmer/Garden City joining Blundell, Brighouse and Gibbons.
“It’a revenue generator for us,” added Braaten. “What city council and parks and recreation said is we don’t need a new facility. This one wasn’t being used to full capacity and the residents are already use to people being here. It’s very exciting for us.”
The RCBA already is planning to hold its Opening Day celebration in April at Palmer/Garden City.
The new venue is part of a productive off-season that earlier included B.C. Minor Baseball approving RCBA joining the elite College Prep League for Midget age players.
The association is also hosting its annual Intro to Baseball Day on Sunday, Jan. 29 at Minoru Park’s Latrace Field from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. It provides potential new players an opportunity to test their skills at a variety of fun stations.
