(Seguin) — The Seguin ISD is not the only one celebrating the start of construction for the high school’s new baseball and softball complex. Among those on hand for Wednesday’s groundbreaking ceremony were Bill Keller, Seguin City Councilman and Jack Jones, the Seguin parks and recreation director.
According to Keller, the construction of the new voter approved athletic facility is a win for the entire Seguin Community.
“I think it will impact the city in that we will be able to attract other events, other playoff games and things of that sort. It will be one of the top-notch facilities. There are going to be a lot of teams from around the area that will want to come to play here.
That will help the entire city as far as restaurants and hotels and ancillary industries that we have,” said Keller.
He says the new state of the art attraction only adds to the city’s strengths and values.
“They are going to see Seguin and what we have here and see that it is good and it’s going to change our lives for sure,” said Keller.
For the last several years, Seguin High School Matador baseball games have been played at the historic Smokey Joe Williams Field located at the Seguin Events Complex. The stadium is named after Joseph Williams, an American pitcher who played in the Negro leagues. Williams “is considered one of the greatest pitchers of all-time and was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.”
Jones says he appreciates the partnership with the school district over the years and looks forward to the future of the program.
“I’ll add that Smokey Joe has been around for a long time and it just needs a lot of TLC and the Seguin kids go play in other stadiums and it’s all turf. It’s brand new. So, I think it’s really going to up the level of competition. I think you are going to see baseball and softball — a good program now — I think it’s going to elevate it to where you can compete for district championships going forward,” said Jones.
He says both baseball and softball deserve this new attention and looks forward to continuing a new type of partnership with the Seguin ISD.
“Going back several years now, the school district and the city have this great relationship of working together and partnering wherever we can to benefit SISD kids and the community. So that partnership will continue. I believe that the school district can have tournaments. If they want to have a bigger tournament, they can use Smokey Joe and bring more people into town, to shop and to eat and to play and so it’s just another facility that adds to public facilities whether it’s the Seguin ISD or the city of Seguin to utilize, to bring people to this community and to grow this community — businesses. The Seguin community is just awesome for coming together for things like this and benefiting everybody,” said Jones.
In its pursuit of a new field, the community initially questioned the future of the historic Smokey Joe Field. Currently, the stadium is also the home of the Seguin River Monsters, the Texas Collegiate League Champions.
Nonetheless, Jones says he is not worried about its future and believes that it will always serve as a key piece in the game of baseball.
“In talking about Smokey Joe, it’s mentioned that it’s old and dated but it’s old school baseball and in today’s generation of kids are playing in new facilities on artificial turf but looking forward to continue to partnership with the Seguin ISD and maybe even have a tournament to where you have a game at the new field but a game can be over at the old school baseball historic
Smokey Joe Williams Field to get that grass and get that old school dirt and clay where the kids won’t get that going forward here for the high school but still you don’t want to forget your history. The history of baseball started out on clay and dirt and grass and lumpy and bumpy and all that and so I’m excited to hear the district talking in their comments that this is community fields. We want to build the kids at their skill level but also, it’s a community asset but we also have the historic Smokey Joe Williams Field and that’s a community asset as well that we want to preserve. You can still use it for tournaments and have that old school baseball feel out there,” said Jones.
Keller says the city can’t wait to see the complex come online. He says not only will it yield young athletes but also good citizens. He says it enhances the community “we live in.”
“The benefits that the kids, the athletes get when they play their sports, those are lessons that they are going to take through the rest of their lives — very very important teamwork — so building facilities like this only enhances that dream for them,” said Keller.
The complex is slated for completion on Aug. 30, 2024.