The Town of Innisfail will soon have a significantly upgraded baseball facility.
On April 12, council approved upgrades to Diamond 7 that will make it a feature hardball diamond, with the intention of making it suitable for hosting provincial and national tournaments.
Diamond 7 is located adjacent to the Innisfail Arena.
“Diamond 7 has a history of poor drainage, which has left that field to be unusable for large portions of previous seasons,” said Steven Kennedy, Town of Innisfail director of operations at a council meeting on April 12.
The town approved the the upgrade contract for $202,381, which will be funded through the Municipal Sustainability Initiative. That falls under the $250,000 that was budgeted for the project.
Howells most recently built the horseshoe pit project in 2019.
The town’s contribution will cover the cost to construct the diamond with basic amenities (grading, grass, shale, fencing) and the Community Facility Enhancement Association will contribute towards any enhanced amenities like irrigation, bleachers, concrete dugout with storage, scoreboard and lighting.
In an engagement process that was completed in November, most participants were in favour of the enhanced facility. That included direct engagement with all community diamond users – CFEA, Innisfail Minor Ball, 590 Slo Pitch league and Junior Merchants.