KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/DickinsonProgress on the Baseball Fields

Progress on the Baseball Fields

Following the 2011 Mouse River flood, the Minot Park District estimated their losses in the range of 50 million dollars.
Part of that loss was in Minot's two baseball complexes: Corbett Field which has been home to professional and amateur baseball in Minot since 1935, and the Jack Hoeven Baseball Park, fairly new to the community and dedicated in 2008.
The Minot Park District hopes to have a field to play ball on by the beginning of July.
Jordan Pederson has more...

Baseball fields aren't supposed to look like this, or like this.
That is why the Minot Park District is working hard to get them back to the playing fields they once were.
Ron Merritt, Minot Park Director, believes it is possible to have the fields at both Corbett and the Hoeven Park Baseball Complex ready by the beginning of July...
But not without a little hard work
(Ron Merritt, Director Minot Park District) "The baseball fields, we'll have to scrape off the silt that was deposited plus what is left of the grass. The root system that is there is now dead, scrape it down to black dirt.Then we can haul in black dirt to smooth it out but for the grass surface, just work around the irrigation and get it down to black dirt and make sure everything is level and sloped properly. Then we can put the sod on top of that."
Both buildings were cleaned and dried last fall.
Even if the concession stands and facilities are not ready, Merritt says they will still open up the fields.
In order for the fields to be open by July, there are a number of factors that need to play out such as funding and logistics.
The Park District did receive funding from the city's sales tax fund that will go towards prepping both the Corbett and Hoeven complexes.
(Ron Merritt, Director Minot Park District) "Over at Hoeven Park we did have flood insurance on the building. We are putting specs together to bid that work out. Over at Corbett field we are just finishing up the FEMA process to look at funding to put the inside of the grandstand back together and the concession building."
Once the work has been bidded out, Merritt says they'll still have to wait for the contractors to order the materials and it may take two or three months before they get someone working on the fields.  
Merritt says the fields won't be ready by the spring season but should be up and running by the summer.  
Jordan Pederson, KX News.