The City of Abbotsford, British Columbia, has approved construction to Grant Park that will include the addition of three new baseball fields, according to The Abbotsford News.
The new baseball facility will feature two grass fields for players aged nine and under, as well as a synthetic turf field custom-designed for the city’s increasingly popular program for players with physical or cognitive disabilities, aged four and up.
In addition to the fields, Grant Park will see improvements to the parking area, dugout and washroom facilities, as well as a new inclusive and wheelchair-friendly play area.
The improvements will help accommodate the rapidly growing Abbotsford’s Angel’s Challenger Division — the number of participants has increased by nearly four times since the program launched just a few years ago — as the synthetic turf makes it easier to navigate a wheelchair through the bases.
The current arrangements made for the division’s games don’t include any dugout accommodations for wheelchairs, while any rescheduling or displaced games often mean the teams can’t play at all.
The project is budgeted at $2.2 million. Construction is set to begin soon with an anticipated completion date before the start of the 2020 baseball season.
