By: Lydia Crawley
The Parsons Advocate
The lighting project at the ballpark at River City Park is estimated to begin May 26th, according to Parsons City Administrator Michael Simmons and Parks and Rec Board Member Seth Rosenau. The updates came as a part of the City of Parsons Council meeting May 20th.
As part of the project, the fencing surrounding the ball field would need to be moved in slightly. The area will need to be measured and marked for a fence crew to complete the work of removing and moving the fencing.
Other updates for the ballpark include an automated pitching machine. Rosenau said that there is an automated pitching machine for the ballpark. There was discussion at the meeting about where the batting cages would be located due to phasing out old, outdated cages that damaged balls. The old cages were made of wire fencing that damaged the balls. New cages are constructed of fencing that are gentler on balls over time, Rosenau said.
“The new batting cages when they built that park, back in the 80s, they put that metal cage in there because that was the standard,” Rosenau said. “But what that cage does, it destroys your balls.”
As a result, the Park Board has purchased a batting cage net, Rosenau said. The new pitching machine also came with a batting cage net, as well, according to Rosenau.
One of the locations being considered for installation of the batting cages is next to the new building that was just completed at the park. Another option being weighed is relocation of the skate park. No definitive decisions were made on the issue.
