new field

21 Days of Christmas Baseball Field

1. South sun behind 1b.

2. 90 ft distance to backstop from plate.

3. Netting as backstop vs metal (dependent on size of crowd)

4. Running Water (and underground drains) in 60 ft dugouts w/ protective netting (vs fence)

5. Enclosed ball field, the entire perimeter bordered and capped, and 25 feet high fences.

6. 100 ft Foul poles

7. AAA type lights (lumens = tbd)

8. Covered Batting cages near dugouts.

9. Pro-turf w/ dirt cutouts in infield. Grass OF (unless unlimited budget....although Texas may not need pro turf)

10. Dual clay pitching mound in bullpens along left and right field lines w/ houses.

11. Running scoreboard w/ pyrotechnic capability! And six camera platforms
CF, LF, RF, 1b line, 3b line & behind dish

12. Radar operated small ship ballons w/ wireless speakers.

13. 100 ft concession stands along baselines and behind plate w/ 50 beer taps.

14. Black-topped parking lot for 10,000 cars.

15. Elevated administrative offices at either OF fences or behind backstop.

16. Enclosed glass 'Corporate Booths'

17. Elevated pool w/ hot tubs and fountain over looking OF walls

18. Movable OF fences (400 ft CF, movable to 360 ft to 220 ft

19. Dual practice infields just outside park.

20. Coaches offices either behind dugouts or overlooking bullpens/batting cages/concession

21. And last but not least, single owner / coordinator w/ deep pockets and long arms!

Regards
Bear

I was involved in the building of the field at Atholton H.S. about 14 years ago. Irrigation system is a must. Warning track around the entire field. Use artificial turf for area behind home plate all the way back to backstop, extending to the nearest edge of each dugout and along the front of the dugout.

About the dugouts:

Do not totally enclose the dugouts. The get hot and the players don't want to sit in them during the game. Have a back wall, open sides with ventilation, and a completely open front. Run a 6 ft. fence about 6 feet in front of the dugout to protect from foul balls.

One Point 9, we built our new field 7 years ago now. Some recommendations:

• Check with your state high school association to see what the requirements are for you to host tournament play. We did and have hosted 4 regionals in these 7 years.
• Our state's recommendation is that the 3rd base foul line face north and south and that left field be in the north. This means in our area, that the wind blows out most of the time.
• You need to be concerned with the foul area. There are standard recommendations for this but keep in mind that this won't only be a varsity field but also a practice field. We have generous room on our foul area and put hitting stations there during practice.
• GRASS INFIELD! It will drive you crazy the first year or two. IT WILL BE WORTH IT.
• Sprinkler system for that infield. If you can, include the outfield. If you can't settle for the infield. If you can't do the whole outfield, then consider one path 20 feet out in the outfield. You would be amazed at what that does.
• PUT A HOSE ATTACHMENT BEHIND HOME PLATE. I LOST ON THIS ARGUMENT. I CURSE DAILY WHEN I HAVE TO HOOK OUR FIREHOSE UP, RUN IT UNDER A FENCE AND THEN ONTO THE DIAMOND.
• I humbly disagree on the suggestion to not enclose the dugouts. We often play at 35 degrees with a wind. We have ours enclosed. Let the summer program worry about the heat if they use your facilities. Besides, that instantly stops all player-spectator conversations.
• MAKE SURE THAT YOU BUILD AN ENTRANCE ON BOTH SIDES OF YOUR DIAMOND FOR THE GROUNDS CREW.
• Plan your bullpen and batting cages when you plan your diamond. You will have to be able to monitor them all during a practice when you may be required to be on the field.
• We built ours with Turface. However, there are several great products out there. Consider that.
• You need to consider where the bathrooms/concession stand will be in relationship to your field.
• There are several designs for a backstop. Be sure to pick the one that fits you best. Ours goes straight up but is very high.
• Have drainage built into your diamond. You will need this along the baselines, (Ours is under the coaching box at 3rd and 1st and then empties to a culvert. We have one built essentially under home plate. It is in the shape of a horseshoe and it also empties into a culvert.
• Are you going to have a warning track? If so, you have to think about legal issues. You have to make sure your warning track is, in fact, big enough to allow a player time to respond to the track. We had a lawsuit which the school lost in our area because the warning track was too small.

Well, I could keep going. Hope this helps some.

Thanks this is a lot of help. You have reinforced alot of what I have written down.

My next question is has anyone ever seen, used or played on a turf infield with safe play turf (like they use on football fields)and how was it?

CoachB25...our dugouts are made of brick. They are beautiful, but very stuffy. Enclosed all the way around, large windows in front, entrance in the front on either end of the dugout. I really enjoy reading your posts. You are very wise and appear to run a terrific program. You were concerned about side conversations if the sides were open. Isn't that a coaching issue, not so much a function of the type of dugout you have?

quote:

Originally posted by one point 9:
... has anyone ever seen, used or played on a turf infield with safe play turf and how was it?

Keeping with tradition, the skepticism was there, however after being able to play ball for the 13th-15th Bear Classic, HS Showcasea for Our National Pastime, after all other teams on the east coast were rained out, reveals the benefit of the pro-turf.

Other advantages of nylon grass:
- Green all-year round.
- Minimal maintenance.
- No need for infield tarp (must cover cutouts)
- True hops
- Use of cleat or turf shoes
- More inf base hits (than grass..if hitter)
- As similar to big-league infield as possible

Potential disadvantages of the fake stuff
- Quicker ground balls (than grass..if pitcher)
- 'Vacuum' cleaner required (lol)
- Proper installation of underground drainage required. (This must be done the right way....or forget it...no shortcuts here!)

Shipley Field at the University of Maryland
has provided and installed the pro-turf infield.

Go Terps.

Regards
Bear

quote:

Originally posted by larrythompson:
I was involved in the building of the field at Atholton H.S. About the dugouts:

Are you kidding me?

With the highest of per capita income in the country, the Van Deusan baseball field (& named after my friend) and especially the dugouts at Althoton HS in Columbia, MD don't 'own' up to the socio-economic scale of the surroundings!

Heck, there is not one single family home for under $500,000 within a 5 mile radius of the field. Make that 10 mi radius. And to have a baseball field in that condition?

Thus the time is long over-due for Althoton HS baseball Coach Kelly to begin a fund-raising campaign to bulldoze Van Deusan Field and begin again. At mininum, turn the baseball field around so that CF is where the new backstop will be and remove the dugouts that back up to the woods, so the trees can be utilized as a natural background.

OBTW: The best HS baseball field for a public school in Maryland may very well be Walter Johnson HS, in Bethesda. And that's on the lowest of minimal budgets, according to my friend, Head Coach Ahearn.

Regards,

[QUOTE]Originally posted by larrythompson:
CoachB25...our dugouts are made of brick. They are beautiful, but very stuffy. ... You were concerned about side conversations if the sides were open. Isn't that a coaching issue, not so much a function of the type of dugout you have?[QUOTE]

Thanks for the compliment. Our dugouts are block but they are the color coordinated to match the block of our high school. These are special red blocks. We have an open front for our dugout but do have a fence in that open front with two enterances. Yes, converstations with spectators is a coaching issue and we have addressed that in a parent's/player meeting since many of our road games are in open dugouts. However, type of dugout just makes running this team a little easier and allows me to concentrate on the field and not on the dugout. JMHO! One other thing about an enclosed dugout with regards to weather. Our dugouts are reinforced since we are so far from the school. (600 + feet) Our dugouts are also to be used in the case of dangerous weather.

quote:

Originally posted by one point 9:
Thanks this is a lot of help. You have reinforced alot of what I have written down.

My next question is has anyone ever seen, used or played on a turf infield with safe play turf (like they use on football fields)and how was it?

The Shiner complex uses that turf (or something similar) on the IF. It is absolutely fantastic. It plays just like grass, except no bad hops. Their turf does not play any faster than regular grass.

It would be worth your while to make the trip down there.

1. Put in an extra station to water the dirt. Saves a ton of time.
2. Lights in the dugouts. This really helps at night, especially if your dugouts are wide.
3. Make sure your electrical outlets are located where it is practical to use them.
4. Get a quality PA system.

Our football field has field turf. So, we have take alot of ground balls on it when the weather does not cooperate. It plays great. We are building a new field next year and I am going to try hard to get field turf put on our new field. Just don't know if we can come up with the $$$ to make that happen.

all of the dugouts on the fields we play on are fully enclosed on 3 sides and fully open in the front - no fencing. no problems with stuffiness etc. personally i wouldnt want open sided dugouts. just wouldnt seem like a real dugout to me.
fan contact during games is a coaching thing but it makes it a heckuva lot easier when you eliminate the possibilities.
we've got alot of nice high school fields in our area and 4 minor league parks within 30 miles. we always play our district tournament on one of these pro fields.