Published: April 09, 2009 01:31 pm      

Clarksville plans dedication ceremony for Little League park

Opening night

Clarksville officials will celebrate the opening of its new Little League baseball complex at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

Food, first pitches and a flag-raising under the lights were all planned, but Mother Nature didn’t cooperate. Because of rain concerns, festivities will be moved inside the nearby former Value City location. People can still view the grounds after the event.

Concessions will be available, and Papa John’s, Chick-fil-A and Famous Dave’s plan to have food for sale. The Hi-Tops — Southern Indiana’s oft-booked teenage girl rock band — will perform.

The public is welcome to come out and celebrate the completion of a Little League park that’s been years in the making.

The park is located at 500 N. Hallmark Drive, behind the Value City building. The first Little League baseball games will be played there Saturday.

Clarksville started construction on its new complex in November 2007. The town has approximately 400 Little Leaguers that will play there, according to Superintendent Brian Kaluzny, of the town’s Parks and Recreation Department

The facility will feature seven fields, the home plates of which encircle a central concession and restroom area, making it possible to watch games taking place on several fields at once. A half-mile walking path rings the entire facility, making the park usable by neighboring residents throughout the year. There’s also playgrounds and parking for 320 cars.

The project cost approximately $4.2 million, most of which was paid for with tax increment finance, or TIF, dollars. About $174,000 in donations was raised through a commemorative brick-selling campaign.

“Everybody’s going to be proud of [the park],” Kaluzny said.

“I’m glad it’s coming to life,” said Clarksville Town Council President Greg Isgrigg. “It’ll be nice to see it open.”

Isgrigg said his family worked to open the old Little League facility, which had been in use for 50 years before the new one was constructed over top of it.

Town officials hope to see the new park last just as long, he said.

“It’s very nice,” said councilman Bob Popp, who serves as a council liaison to the parks department. “The facility will enable the town to really get lot of kids involved.

“With society the way it is, communities have to think about activities for young people,” he added.



IF YOU GO

• Clarksville Parks and Recreation Department will have a dedication ceremony for its new Little League park at 6:30 p.m. Friday. The field is at 500 N. Hallmark Drive, but because of rain concerns, the ceremony will be held indoors at the nearby former Value City, 700 Eastern Blvd.

  

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