By next summer, the Moundridge Recreation Commission softball and baseball fields will feel brand new.
On July 9, Nathan Guyer, a third-generation owner of the Grasshopper Company where he is also a production specialist, presented MRC Director Jeremy Moore with a check for a donation of more than $15,000 from Grasshopper to cover the cost of a new press box between the softball and baseball fields, and Guyer and his wife Jenni are personally donating an additional $15,000 to purchase a new scoreboard for the baseball field, which is called Grasshopper Field.
“It’s been Grasshopper Field for 25 years or more, and we want to keep it that way,” Nathan said.
Also, the duo said the ballfields were clearly needing some improvements.
“You go out there and you can look around and easily see so many upgrades that need to be done,” Jenni said.
Moore, who tries to address something every season, said he has long-term plans to improve all aspects of the complex.
“Let’s improve what we have,” he said. “It’s a 30-year investment.”
The Guyers agreed, saying they wanted to make the ballfields useful for years to come.
“It would be nice to have a tournament facility,” Jenni said.
Working with Moore, Nathan said, the first step was improving the press box.
“I was pretty sold when Jeremy took me up there,” he said. “I knew we needed to do something.”
Moore said two metal containers will be purchased and stacked on top of each other.
The bottom will be used for storing the equipment used to prepare the fields for play, and the top will have windows installed so it can be a press box for both fields.
The old media gallery had fallen into disrepair with portions of the wooden structure rotting or otherwise deteriorating, which caused the structure to become unsafe.
“I wanted to make that a priority for safety,” Moore said.
The old press box has already been removed.
Concrete for the new structure has been donated and poured by Michael Carpenter, who owns Carpenter Construction Company.
Once completed, the new facility will be 12 feet wide and 20 feet long, compared to the old building’s footprint of 18 feet wide and 14 feet long.
Moore said the new combined storage facility and press box will be slightly taller than the old one, and to ensure everyone’s safety, the new press box will only be accessible via internal stairs that will be located within the lower half of the structure.
During the discussion about the press box, Moore and the Guyers also talked about the Grasshopper Field scoreboard.
“We wanted to make the scoreboard a little nicer than what it currently is,” Nathan said.
The new display, which will be delivered sometime in August, will be slightly larger than the existing one, and it will offer more options, such as digitally putting in team names and tracking scores and other game statistics.
“We wanted something that would actually grow with the place,” Jenni said.
Nathan agreed.
“It should look a lot cleaner,” he said.
Growth is the goal for Moore and the Guyers, growth of the ballfield complex and the community.
“It’s like everything else,” Moore said. “If you get people here, they see what a good community it is. They want to move here. They want to spend their money here.”
Having quality athletic facilities helps draw those individuals to town.
Nathan said he and Jenni are going to continue working with Moore to improve the ballfields. Some of the ideas they have discussed include more concrete, improved bathroom facilities, new fencing, better lighting, and bleachers with sunshades, among others.
“Jeremy’s done a phenomenal job,” Jenni said. “I think he’s going to make some good, positive changes around here.”
The Guyers said making improvements around town is key to Moundridge’s survival.
“If we want to keep the community alive, we’re going to have to do something to keep it,” Nathan said.
That means it’s time for a new generation of residents to go to bat for Moundridge.
“It’s time for our age group to step up,” Moore said. “I don’t have money, but I have time and effort.”
Jenni agreed.
“If you start losing little things like your ballfields, then your community is just going to slowly die off,” she said. “Let’s step up for the community. I just want more people going, ‘You know what, Moundridge, I got you.’”
Likewise, Moore said he wants people to be excited by the progress being made, prompting them to take pride in the facility and feel some ownership over it.
“It should lead to increased participation,” he said. “They want to play on nice stuff, and if you have more of that, it just brings people in who want to play here instead of going out of town.”
Jenni agreed.
“Hopefully people appreciate the improvements,” she said.
The concrete slab that will serve as the base of the new press box has been poured thanks to a donation by Michael Carpenter, who owns Carpenter Construction Company. (photo by Todd R. Vogts)
