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Push for New Permian Basin Baseball/Softball Facility
Push for New Permian Basin Baseball/Softball Facility 3/5/13
Marshall Hughes
CBS7 Sports Reporter
As far as advantages go in sports, having home-field is about as big as it gets.
But the 5,000-plus sluggers that play select baseball and softball here in the Permian Basin know no-such feeling.
"Families are traveling to Lubbock and San Angelo and Abilene and Dallas-Fort Worth area to get the experience that they want to have," said Marcus Gardner, the man leading the charge to build those little-leagues a place to call home.
But a new facility wouldn't just be for the young ones. Gardner has a vision that players of all ages could benefit from.
"We want to have a multi-dimentional turf complex where an 8 year old kid can play on it one weekend and then 18 or 22 year old kids can be on it the following weekend," he shared.
Of course, something like this isn't free. The complex would cost anywhere from $6-9 million.
"The economy is doing really well right now so we want to try to get this project going privately, and get it done in window of opporutnity that we have," Gardner explained.
But not everyone is sold on the idea just yet. Local parent Rico Enriquez has some concerns.
"If that sports complex means getting rid of neighborhood, local, family, involved baseball where you can, you know, your local baseball park is only less than a mile away from your home, I think that's going to limit a lot of opportunity for kids," Enriquez said.
"We don't want to take away from little league at all," Gardner countered. "We want to enhance little league. We want to partner with little league to provide a place where, city tournaments can be held at or even a little league night could be held at a complex like this."