Major Field / Facility Renovations

3 years ago I landed my first Varsity Head Coaching position. I shared my vision with my new principal and the idea that I had to replace the backstop that had been at the field since it was built 25 years earlier. Before I knew it there was a fundraising project going on to replace the backstop.

We sold "pavers" that were placed directly behind home plate on the block wall that replaced the old chain link fence backstop. The total cost of the project was approximately $22K. We sold over 300 spaces for the pavers and these 300 spaces sold covered the cost of the project so there was no burden to the school or booster club. If we had sold 600 pavers we would have covered all cost and been $10K+ to the good that could have been spent on the baseball program. As it stands we have room for another 800 future pavers and only the cost of adding those new sold pavers to the wall would come out of the profits of selling them.

We now have a beautiful block backstop with netting from dugout to dugout and have request all the time about adding more pavers to the wall.

Good Luck

Ramscoach, Just what is a "paver". We are trying to upgrade our facility and maybe this would work for us if I new what is was.

One of the HSs in our district has a huge wood shop program. In order to raise funds, they build buildings of various sizes. For about $2,500 base price, they’ll build a 25x15 building, with a roof, windows, doors, and wired, plus they’ll deliver it for a small fee. Many of the local schools buy those, or even smaller ones for use on campuses. Our baseball program already has 1 it uses for a snack shack, and another to store the Gator and a whole lot of other equipment.

Another option if you can’t find someplace like that, is purchasing a used trailer. We found a full sized single wide trailer that could be delivered for a total of $19,000. We found it looking at construction companies who by them for a job, then have no more use for them. It was already plumbed and wired, plus had toilet and kitchen facilities.

ramscoach, i would love to see pictures of your backstop. we are also looking to replace the old chain link fence.

I should have said "brick paver" to clarify myself.

If you notice in the 1st picture that there are two sizes of pavers. We charged $125 for the small and $250 for the large. We did this in a matter of 4-6 months. http://www.robeson.k12.nc.us/c...in/3622/D2S_0151.JPG

This picture is sort of at an angle to show how we "picture framed" the pavers onto the cinder block wall. The pavers are framed using regular brick and are off-set so that they look "framed". In other words it adds depth as the pavers are not flush with the brick framing.
http://www.robeson.k12.nc.us/c...in/3622/D2S_0163.JPG

Coach that backstop and field is beautiful. If you don't mind telling us this how much was it per paver? I've seen before where if you "sell the blocks" then they pay for themselves easily. If you sell one paver for $250 to let a business / family advertise on it then show how many pavers that one payment can buy may help others realize how this can pay for itself.

Nice field ramscoach, and the backstop came out great! But I noticed something I just have to ask about.

Why did they choose to go with grass baselines between home and 1st/3rd? I’m thinking about it from a maintenance standpoint, which includes wear and tear, and every field I’ve ever seen with grass baselines, has become a maintenance nightmare to keep it looking good, and in good repair.

Stats4Gnats We filled in our baselines about 5 years ago and its been great. We have very little funding from the school and i was tired of edging and filling every year. Other than putting down the foul line there is nothing to do but mow. I recommend it!!

I would love information on doing this as well. What company was used? How much did you have to pay per paver?

quote:

Originally posted by coachC:
Stats4Gnats We filled in our baselines about 5 years ago and its been great. We have very little funding from the school and i was tired of edging and filling every year. Other than putting down the foul line there is nothing to do but mow. I recommend it!!

Having built and maintained fields with a lot of use in an area where there’s baseball being played year round, and sometimes in 100+ weather, all I can say is, my experience is not the same as yours. And as I said, every field out here that I’ve ever seen with grass base paths between home and the corners, just don’t stand up to the wear and tear, and look tacky very quickly.

quote:

Originally posted by coach2709:
Coach that backstop and field is beautiful. If you don't mind telling us this how much was it per paver? I've seen before where if you "sell the blocks" then they pay for themselves easily. If you sell one paver for $250 to let a business / family advertise on it then show how many pavers that one payment can buy may help others realize how this can pay for itself.

Thanks for the compliments on the backstop.

The pavers come in 4"x8" and 8"x8" sizes. If memory serves me correctly the cost of the 4x8 was $35-$45 each and the 8x8 was $70-$80(not really sure on this cost for the 8x8). So for the 4x8 we profited approximately $75-$85 and $170 on the 8x8. The profits were used to cover the labor cost of having them mounted to the backstop, as well as, the mortar for the brick and the brick used to "picture frame" the pavers.

quote:

Why did they choose to go with grass baselines between home and 1st/3rd? I’m thinking about it from a maintenance standpoint, which includes wear and tear, and every field I’ve ever seen with grass baselines, has become a maintenance nightmare to keep it looking good, and in good repair.

That was all done before I took over the program. I will say that before I became a head coach that was going to be my first project if I got a field that had grass baselines, to remove the sod. However, after becoming a head coach and now knowing that I am a one-man wrecking crew when it comes to field maintenance, grass baselines are the greatest. My field has Bermuda turf, I'm thinking mainly Tifway 419 and it stands up pretty good to the traffic. The field sees about 125-150 games plus daily practice from mid February until mid July. Only problem I see is I have sweep the field due to the torn up turf.

As a side note, I don't know of a high school field in our region that has skinned base paths.

quote:

I would love information on doing this as well. What company was used? How much did you have to pay per paver?

we used www.fundraisersltd.net. In going back and looking at the literature they sent to us here are some of the professional and major universities that have used them as well: University of Georgia, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Fran Giants, Cincinnati Reds just to name a few. Check out their website and see some of the other projects they have supplied pavers for.

They also sent us a couple of samples so that we could see their product and I think it was free of charge. Good Luck gentlemen.

It was one of the best ideas we have come up with and it could be profitable for many more years as there is space for another 800 or more pavers.

Remember for us it covered the cost of the entire backstop, netting, pavers and labor of putting up the pavers. We sold only 300 spaces and made enough to cover the cost of the entire project. If we sell more in the future we will only have cost of the paver itself, mortar and labor as we have brick left over to frame the new ones with. So everything else will be $$$ in the bank!

Hey coach one quick question - the writing on the pavers - how was that done? Is that a paint job or like a scratch job? I can't really tell how the writing is on there and was that an extra cost or already figured in with the whole project?

Thanks

The lettering is engraved to a depth of 1/8"-1/4" and then has a filler put in the lettering.

On the 4x8 you can get 3 lines of text with 15 characters per line. On the 8x8 you get 6 lines of text and 15 characters per line. These engravings are included in the cost.

On the 8x8 you can get the 6 lines of text or a logo and 3 lines of text. You can have a personalized business logo added for an additional cost.

quote:

Having built and maintained fields with a lot of use in an area where there’s baseball being played year round, and sometimes in 100+ weather, all I can say is, my experience is not the same as yours. And as I said, every field out here that I’ve ever seen with grass base paths between home and the corners, just don’t stand up to the wear and tear, and look tacky very quickly.

When I was in high school, our field had dirt cut-outs for 1st/3rd basepaths. A few years ago, our coach laid down sod and cut them out. It was just too much work for him to keep up with it. He was spending a ton of time trying to keep those up and forcing him to neglect other parts of the field. Also, we had more than a handful of games rained out because the baselines were puddles while the rest of the field was playable...

quote:

Originally posted by Bulldog 19:
When I was in high school, our field had dirt cut-outs for 1st/3rd basepaths. A few years ago, our coach laid down sod and cut them out. It was just too much work for him to keep up with it. He was spending a ton of time trying to keep those up and forcing him to neglect other parts of the field. Also, we had more than a handful of games rained out because the baselines were puddles while the rest of the field was playable...

Don’t get me wrong, I understand that there are all kinds of different situations that require all kinds of different solutions, and that a solution here will lead to a lot of problems there.

Probably the saddest thing about baseball fields in general, is that when they’re put in, the effort to save a buck combined with some ignorance, usually means some kind of trouble down the line. And that trouble most of the time is drainage, even in the sun belt regions. The main reason for that and other problems is, 9 times out of 10, the “eggspurts” putting in the fields, don’t have to maintain them!

Here’s a couple of the “problems” I see most.

1)When I look at a field and see rake marks in the base paths from home to 1st/3rd, I know the chances of them being level is nil, and that they take up way more maintenance time than is necessary. Simply making the base paths about 7’ wide allows the 6’ drag to be used to “dress” them. That allows 2’ of dirt on the fair side, and 5 on the foul side, which works very well.

2)The infield dirt is from 1”-4” below the soil level of the turf. People forget that over time, the elements and use will pack the IF soil, causing its level to drop. Combine that with the buildup of “lips” where the soil and turf meet, and you have at minimum an unsightly mess, and at worse a dangerous situation. Combine that with reduced drainage, and you have a sloppy mess.

All that needs to be done, is to “fluff up” the soil once in a while. Rototilling is probably the best way, but it takes a while. The next best way is to use some kind of “tool” that will penetrate the soil at least 3”-6”, and break it up. That will allow light and air to penetrate the soil, and improve drainage immensely. Finish off the job with a few yards of new IF dirt to dress things up, and for a couple hundred bucks, in essence you have a brand new IF.

Sorry, got carried away there.

quote:

The main reason for that and other problems is, 9 times out of 10, the “eggspurts” putting in the fields, don’t have to maintain them!

The problem I see is the ones building them have no clue when it comes to sports! Not just baseball fields, but all athletic facilities..

My dad said when they started our new high school, they laid out the new football field East-West instead of North-South. Of course those same geniuses laid out two softball fields instead of one softball, one baseball....


I think one problem we had with our basepaths was that it wasn't initially designed that way. It was all grass and they cut out the basepaths. Then he went and put the sod back down because it wasn't working..

quote:

Originally posted by Bulldog 19:
The problem I see is the ones building them have no clue when it comes to sports! Not just baseball fields, but all athletic facilities..

My dad said when they started our new high school, they laid out the new football field East-West instead of North-South. Of course those same geniuses laid out two softball fields instead of one softball, one baseball....

I don’t know about your area, but ours generally use the same contractors to put in the athletic facilities, as the trees, grass, and bushes all over the school. IOW, the entire landscape. But its like so many other things. They allow guys in offices to do the drawings and specs, based on what’s been done before. Then too, our district’s 11 HSs , use the same crew to take care of the rest of the landscaped items, as they do for the athletic fields. So, there’s the luck of the draw as to whether or not the designer has any depth of experiences at it, followed by a maintenance crew who simply doesn’t have the time nor money to maintain a field they way it should be maintained.

quote:

I think one problem we had with our basepaths was that it wasn't initially designed that way. It was all grass and they cut out the basepaths. Then he went and put the sod back down because it wasn't working..

There’s little doubt that’s true to a least some degree. One reason is, the subsoil prep for turf is much different than infield soil. When we redid our infield dirt, we started hitting native soil after on a few inches. Since the native soil here is very often hard pan clay, its easy to see why we always had trouble with little lakes in the base paths, to the point of having to turn the irrigation off an let the turf get super stressed, rather than have mud in the base paths.

Our guys talked to the head groundskeeper here at River Cat Stadium, a AAA field, and Pac Bell park down in the bay. We couldn’t do everything they suggested, but we did the most expensive one. We ripped out the native soil in the base paths, down to 18”, laid down lots of sand, lots of gravel, a few hundred dollars worth of drain pipe leading to some French drains, and an untold number of yards of baseball mix, gratefully donated in part by a local rancher.

Since then, 7 years ago, it might pour here during the winter, but a few hours after it stops, you can drag the IF. You might have to swim in the outfield, but the IF dirt will be beautiful. But not a lot of HS have access to few labor, free equipment, and mostly free materials, and even if they did, they’d have to get it approved by the school, the school board, the county, the state, and possible even the feds, a process which could take years.

.

"French drains"

B-I-N-G-O !

.