TOPSHAM — Mt. Ararat’s sports teams have been forced to make some adjustments after being displaced by the construction of their new high school, with the baseball squad on the search for a new home.
The school is being built where the main athletics field once stood. While the school will open its doors to students in the fall of 2020, the new athletic field isn’t slated to be fully up and running until 2021.
The baseball field was expected to be done in time for the spring 2019 season, but the district announced in November that wouldn’t be the case. Reasons for the delay include lengthy reconstruction of utility lines along and a poor growing season.
Athletic Director Geoff Godo said the school doesn’t want the field to be in poor shape when it debuts.
“I know It’s difficult to look out there and see a field,” he said. “The last thing we want to do is get on it too soon and tear it up.”
Godo said the first season affected by the construction went smoothly. The Topsham parks and recreation department hosted soccer games, while football played the Topsham Fairgrounds. Mt. Ararat had the benefit of the middle school fields for field hockey. Mt. Ararat also hopes to keep its baseball team close to home when it comes time for first pitch in the spring.
“That was always the focus I had,” said Godo. “We wanted to play close enough where our parents and fans could get there and we needed to play on fields that were the same quality.”
The estimated cost for dugouts is $10,000 with another $18,000 for ground preparation. A scoreboard for the baseball field is about $15,000. Efforts were already underway to raise money for some of these items, but for Godo an adequate playing surface is the key.
“We will have the softball field in the usual spot but the baseball field won’t be ready in time for the spring season,” said Godo. “ I’ve had conversations with both Bowdoin College and Brunswick parks and rec to try to find solutions for the season.”
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