RSS Feed
|
|||||
|
New baseball field is taking shape in Thousand Oaks
Shouts of "play ball" ringing from the home plate umpire are only about a month away at Amgen Field in Thousand Oaks. Finishing touches are being put on the new full-size baseball field, located at Conejo Creek South Park on Janss Road at the northbound 23 Freeway exit. "Certainly the most exciting part is watching it go in the ground," said Loren Pluth, senior park planner for the Conejo Recreation and Park District. "From 1999 to 2004, this field has been at least five years in the making, and probably beyond that." All told, the park project will include 12 soccer fields and one baseball field, Amgen Field. Cal Lutheran University will use the diamond for one year while construction continues on the new Sparky Anderson field at the soon-to-be-built $80 million CLU North Campus Athletics Complex. In order to have a field to play on when Kingsmen baseball drills begin next month, Bruce Bryde, CLU director of auxiliary services and North Campus athletic operations, made arrangements for the school to constribute $32,000 for the Amgen Field sod. Funding and support for Amgen Field came from several groups, including the Amateur Baseball Development Group (ABDG), a Thousand Oaks-based organization; the Conejo Valley Little League (CVLL), a nonprofit youth sports group; and CLU. CVLL raised approximately $75,000, including a large donation from the Amgen Foundation. ABDG’s financial contribution came from the inaugural Mike Scioscia Charity Golf Tournament last month in Simi Valley. That effort netted about $60,000. "Our group (ABDG) came on board and put some amenities in that we hope will make it a premium field and a special field in the area," said the Anaheim Angels manager, who joined several dozen people at the field last week for the laying of the sod. Randy Riley and Kevin Muno worked with Scioscia at the golf fund-raiser. After CLU’s baseball season ends in early May, the field will serve as home for the CVLL Senior Division (players 14-16 years old) and Big League Division (players 16-18) games. "We have plans to build a big snack shop, restrooms and add a scoreboard," Riley said. "We’ve had many meetings and coordination," added Pluth. "We’re not done yet, but we will be in time for their season at the end of January." Members from all three groups decided early on that the field should be permanent. ABDG is working to have the field become a full complex, where Memorial Day, Labor Day and Fourth of July tournaments can be played. "What we want to do is rather than having our schools going to Arizona or Florida to have tournaments to play, we’d prefer to have them come here," Riley said. He and Joe Gibson, past CVLL president, have worked together on the field project from the beginning. Marty Slimak, head coach of the CLU baseball team, is looking forward to the new field as well. "He’s looking at the clock asking, ‘When can I get on?’" Pluth said. Scioscia, impressed with the area’s interest in youth athletics, said Thousand Oaks has a very active community not only in baseball, but all sports. "You talk about talent in the baseball level of talent that’s here," the former Major League catcher said. "It’s incredible. There’s a need to have a field for kids, a place to play. We’re excited about seeing everything come together." Muno, delighted with how the plans are progressing, said Amgen Field will be a facility where kids can be proud to play. "This is going to be the first real regulation-size baseball field in the whole Conejo Valley that is going to be available for kids to play on," Muno said. High school fields are often used, but aren’t always available. "Kids are going to be able to come out and practice their game, play and it’s just really exciting," Muno said. Pluth, eagerly awaiting those first shouts of "play ball," said the new field is a unique and highly anticipated addition to the community. |
for larger version       |
||||
)