Jefferson City Parks to buy baseball complex

Kathleen Groner of Blair Oaks smacks an RBI single Sept. 15, 2018, during the seventh inning of a game against Centralia in the Capital City Invitational at 63 Diamonds, north of Jefferson City.
Kathleen Groner of Blair Oaks smacks an RBI single Sept. 15, 2018, during the seventh inning of a game against Centralia in the Capital City Invitational at 63 Diamonds, north of Jefferson City.

The Jefferson City Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department will soon be the new owner of the 63 Diamonds baseball complex.

The Parks and Recreation Commission approved a contract Tuesday to purchase about 20 acres of land that make up the complex at 12143 Renz Farm Road.

Parks Director Todd Spalding said the department had been looking to improve the city's youth baseball and softball programs.

"It's struggled for the last few years," Spalding said. "We really felt like, with our leagues and with tournaments for our community, we should maybe be doing a little bit more."

Part of the problem was the lack of a cluster of fields in one place. Spalding said baseball or softball tournaments are often looking for at least four or five diamonds to host on.

JC Parks does own a few baseball fields. The Optimist Sports Complex at Ellis-Porter Riverside Park has three baseball diamonds, and Binder Park has the Scott and Byrd Softball Fields made up of five diamonds. The North Jefferson City Recreation Area also has 10 baseball/softball practice fields.

The 63 Diamonds complex, just outside of town between U.S. 63 and the Missouri River, holds four full-sized baseball diamonds.

Spalding said the Parks Department considered building a complex, but when they realized purchasing 63 Diamonds was an option, they took it.

"Buying something like that, at $750,000, where we could kind of plug and play, and really improve our products and our tournaments, and really make a bigger economic impact for our community, we just thought it was a great opportunity," Spalding said, adding building a new facility could cost up to $3 million.

The Parks Department will continue offering the competitive baseball little league that has taken place there previously.

Team registration began Wednesday and ends March 6. The entry fee for each team is $1,000, with a $500 deposit due Feb. 14 and the remainder due March 6.

The Parks Department will also honor all discounts for team registration promised to 2019 who lost games and provide multi-team discounts - $20 off of each team for registrations of two to five teams and $25 off of each team for six to 10 teams.

The 2020 league will be a 12-game season with six doubleheaders. Teams will be divided into A and B divisions and seven age groups.

For more information about the competitive baseball league and how to register, visit the JC Parks website.

JC Parks will also host the five tournaments that were already scheduled for 2020 at 63 Diamonds.

Spalding said they wanted to continue offering the competitive league to the youth in the area.

"We want different levels to be able to participate however they want to. That met a pretty good need in our community," Spalding said. "We didn't want to get rid of it. It's a great program."

Spalding said they hope to continuing offering baseball and softball programs and add more in the future.

The commission also approved an $800,000 supplemental appropriation to pay for the purchase as well as some needed equipment for the facility, which will need approval from the Jefferson City Council.

About seven months ago, the baseball complex was underwater because of the spring flooding that affected large portions of the area. However, Spalding said the flood damage has been repaired by the previous owner. The Parks Department just needs to purchase some additional concession stand equipment.