Our field is in need of dugouts. Anyone out there have blueprints? Any funding ideas?
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Our basball booster club hosts an annual golf tournament in October. We cleared over $6000 last year. Also, last year all the players had to sell the dreaded discount cards - the size of a credit card with discounts at a variety of local businesses. They sold for $10 each - we cleared about $8000 on that project. Every player was required to sell a certain number. We are doing the same fundraisers again this year.
Haha yea they are called Gold Cards up here. But same purpose really. We also have a concession stand, and that gives us some major income. We got a brand new field for our school from the profits on that.
What size field, and what is your budget.
If it's just a fenced field, with fenced dugout's.
Talk to a local fence company, They are alway's willing to help with small jobs. And 2 Dugout's would not be to much for them to fund.
They put there name on the Fench.
It's free advertizing for them.
I Was the Field's director for are local LL.
Was able to get 2 small Backstop's that way for a couple of field's.
You would be surprised at the help you will recieve if you just mention Kid's and Baseball. EH
If it's just a fenced field, with fenced dugout's.
Talk to a local fence company, They are alway's willing to help with small jobs. And 2 Dugout's would not be to much for them to fund.
They put there name on the Fench.
It's free advertizing for them.
I Was the Field's director for are local LL.
Was able to get 2 small Backstop's that way for a couple of field's.
You would be surprised at the help you will recieve if you just mention Kid's and Baseball. EH
Check with your local government. There are often grants available for projects like yours.
Dave...we designed and built our own dugouts about 15 years ago. They are really nice, but not terribly functional for this part of the country. Before I would want to suggest a blueprint, I would first like to know more about your field and the conditions you play in:
1. Is it windy, real hot, real cold?
2. Where is the sun with respect to home plate?
3. How far back from the foul line will these dugouts be built?
These factors should be considered before choosing a specific set of plans.
For example, if you play in hot and humid weather, you will want to design dugouts that will keep the sun from beating down on the players, while maximizing the amount of air flow through the dugouts. If you play in a cold environment (isn't most of MASS cold most of the time?), you want to keep the wind factor down, but allow for some sunlight to provide a little natural warmth.
1. Is it windy, real hot, real cold?
2. Where is the sun with respect to home plate?
3. How far back from the foul line will these dugouts be built?
These factors should be considered before choosing a specific set of plans.
For example, if you play in hot and humid weather, you will want to design dugouts that will keep the sun from beating down on the players, while maximizing the amount of air flow through the dugouts. If you play in a cold environment (isn't most of MASS cold most of the time?), you want to keep the wind factor down, but allow for some sunlight to provide a little natural warmth.
Dave,
We just had 2 awesome dugouts built for one of our small diamond fields here in town, Hudson NH.
They were built as an Eagle Scout project for a young man here in town. He was able to get all of the money donated for their construction and I believe since the Boy Scouts is a non-profit group the donations were tax deductable for the givers. This many times really helps encourage people to donate.
The dugouts are of a quality that they would be welcomed on any High School field as long as the size was modified for bigger kids.
Send me an email if you'd like me to put you in touch with the adult that worked with this young man to make this project happen.
We just had 2 awesome dugouts built for one of our small diamond fields here in town, Hudson NH.
They were built as an Eagle Scout project for a young man here in town. He was able to get all of the money donated for their construction and I believe since the Boy Scouts is a non-profit group the donations were tax deductable for the givers. This many times really helps encourage people to donate.
The dugouts are of a quality that they would be welcomed on any High School field as long as the size was modified for bigger kids.
Send me an email if you'd like me to put you in touch with the adult that worked with this young man to make this project happen.
quote:Originally posted by larrythompson:
Dave...we designed and built our own dugouts about 15 years ago. They are really nice, but not terribly functional for this part of the country. Before I would want to suggest a blueprint, I would first like to know more about your field and the conditions you play in:
1. Is it windy, real hot, real cold?
2. Where is the sun with respect to home plate?
3. How far back from the foul line will these dugouts be built?
These factors should be considered before choosing a specific set of plans.
For example, if you play in hot and humid weather, you will want to design dugouts that will keep the sun from beating down on the players, while maximizing the amount of air flow through the dugouts. If you play in a cold environment (isn't most of MASS cold most of the time?), you want to keep the wind factor down, but allow for some sunlight to provide a little natural warmth.
Larry,
Thanks for responding
First of all we do have a few warm days in Massachusetts. For the most part though, our field is cold during the season. We play alot of night games.
The sun rises over the first baseline and sets over the third base line...we relish the sun beating down on us after our annual miserable winter.
There is not alot of foul ground.
Who owns the field? That will impact what you can do. i.e. if its owned by the school district you may need to met the specifications required by the state - or you can just build it and hope no one complains! Recently the state insisted that a local volunteer group install an elevator to provide handicap access to a second level scorer's booth at a softball field.
--If the group knew about the handicap access requirment they would have kept the design to a single level rather then end up in negoiations with the state for an elevator that cost more then the entire field.
Eventully the state allowed them use the building as long as they provided "dead space" in the building to allow for the installation of an elevator at a later date, should one ever be needed. The structure almost doubled in size for the dead space. And people wonder why more residents don't contribute time and effort to building sports facilities at our public schools.
Good luck.
--If the group knew about the handicap access requirment they would have kept the design to a single level rather then end up in negoiations with the state for an elevator that cost more then the entire field.
Eventully the state allowed them use the building as long as they provided "dead space" in the building to allow for the installation of an elevator at a later date, should one ever be needed. The structure almost doubled in size for the dead space. And people wonder why more residents don't contribute time and effort to building sports facilities at our public schools.
Good luck.
We just put new dugouts on our high school field this year. We had above ground dugouts and tore them down and moved them back off the field further and made them in ground. We asked a local architectural firm to donate their service to design them (drainage is very important!)We then enlistd about 6 or 7 local contractors to do a piece of the work.
One tore them down (they were concrete), one hauled off the old dugouts, one dug the new dugouts, one poured the concrete walls and floors, one put the roof on, a grandfather of a player built the benches and the bat/helmet racks, another donated the sod needed to repair the field, and another provided signage for the front of the dugouts.
We had to pay for the concrete and some of the lumber (most was donated by a local lumber company and Lowe's). To do this we held chicken dinners throughout the winter and used some our 100 inning game fundraiser money.
They are beautiful and we had a local pattern company donate diecast plaques with the names of all those who who donated time and material on them. They are prominantly displayed on the concession walls and in the dugouts.
With all the contractors doing a small part it came together rather quickly and they were not out alot. Plus they were able to use the time as a donation!
One tore them down (they were concrete), one hauled off the old dugouts, one dug the new dugouts, one poured the concrete walls and floors, one put the roof on, a grandfather of a player built the benches and the bat/helmet racks, another donated the sod needed to repair the field, and another provided signage for the front of the dugouts.
We had to pay for the concrete and some of the lumber (most was donated by a local lumber company and Lowe's). To do this we held chicken dinners throughout the winter and used some our 100 inning game fundraiser money.
They are beautiful and we had a local pattern company donate diecast plaques with the names of all those who who donated time and material on them. They are prominantly displayed on the concession walls and in the dugouts.
With all the contractors doing a small part it came together rather quickly and they were not out alot. Plus they were able to use the time as a donation!
Depending on where you live, and what the surrounding terrain is like, I'd skip the built-in approach. We got them a coupel years ago and nothing but problem - drain sclog with seeds and mud - alwasy water in there, etc
My company was a subcontractor that helped build dugouts for a local HS. The price tag was a unbelievable 100k. Most of the cost could be attributated to government buracacy.
I vowed that I would never work on a school project again.
I vowed that I would never work on a school project again.
100 G's is a bit out of our range....
100 G's is way out of range, must be CA pricing. Our dugouts cost us $9,000 for all the materials that were not doanted. You can raise that amount. Contact your local contractors, some of them are sure to be alums!
Probably the reason the cost was so High was because it was my son's rival HS. JK.
Yes, this was CA. and everything was done above board. In other words, every nail and splinter had to be approved by the state. They had no clue.
Yes, this was CA. and everything was done above board. In other words, every nail and splinter had to be approved by the state. They had no clue.
larrythompson posted:Dave...we designed and built our own dugouts about 15 years ago. Best tax advisor this company. They are really nice, but not terribly functional for this part of the country. Before I would want to suggest a blueprint, I would first like to know more about your field and the conditions you play in:
1. Is it windy, real hot, real cold?
2. Where is the sun with respect to home plate?
3. How far back from the foul line will these dugouts be built?
These factors should be considered before choosing a specific set of plans.
For example, if you play in hot and humid weather, you will want to design dugouts that will keep the sun from beating down on the players, while maximizing the amount of air flow through the dugouts. If you play in a cold environment (isn't most of MASS cold most of the time?), you want to keep the wind factor down, but allow for some sunlight to provide a little natural warmth.
resolved the issue?
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