(Seguin) – Seguin ISD’s question of whether it can offer new or improved baseball and softball facilities is on its way to being answered.
The Seguin ISD Board of Trustees recently took its first step in considering its options by approving an architect who will come up with potential designs and costs associated with those facilities.
Currently, the Seguin High School baseball program utilizes the city of Seguin’s Smokey Joe Williams Field at the Seguin Complex Center for its regular season games. A baseball practice field and softball field are also located on campus. All three fields are said to be unsafe for players and in terrible shape.
Sean Hoffmann, the chief communications for the Seguin ISD, says this latest action comes after the request for new fields was brought to the board’s attention by Craig Dailey, the new athletic director and head football coach. During that particular meeting, he was also joined by a group of parents and community supporters who also felt it was time to not renovate but build a whole new combined baseball, softball complex – returning the baseball program to the high school campus.
“Our trustees have approved for the district to go forward with design services essentially hiring an architect to begin the design to let the district know what it would take and what it might look like to have the softball field renovated potentially with an artificial surfacing as well as getting the Seguin High School practice field which is on the Seguin High School property renovated as well so that can be our permanent home for our baseball team. So, that’s where we are in the process….”
“Some of our coaches met with the architect which is PB Group last week in an initial meeting to kind of go over some thoughts and ideas and considerations on having that baseball/softball complex at the Seguin High School complex,” said Hoffmann.
Hoffmann says the money allocated for this step is only to better define the feasibility of the project and does not commit the district to move forward.
“There was $400,000 in fund balance designated for the design services for the Seguin High School baseball and softball complex so essentially that would be the maximum amount that the district would pay for those architectural services to come up with that design. Once we receive and get a finalized design, that is when we can move forward and start figuring out what it is going to cost? How long it’s going to take to do the project as well as how the district will fund the project whether it becomes part or entirely part of a future bond issue or whether there are substantial funds available to pay for that construction out of our general fund,” said Hoffmann.
In attempts to assist the Seguin ISD, Seguin City Manager Steve Parker says they know the value of what the district is hoping to accomplish. His statement was made following the Seguin ISD’s approval to sale a pair of Saegert campus facilities to the city.
“We knew that the school district was looking to upgrade their Smokey Joe Williams Baseball Field which is actually owed by the city, but they use it nine months out of the year. They had some funds in place and so we were looking at doing maybe a partnership with the school district that says ‘hey, we’ve got some American Rescue Funds out there’ — that is eligible for improvements such as the ones at the Smokey Williams Field. What if we, in a partnership, look to maybe do a trade where we put in some money for the baseball field to get them up to grade so that you can have a nice facility for your high school baseball and then the city can actually do some beautification efforts over at the Saegert School. It’s a great piece of property in a great location but it’s just run down and kind of an eye sore,” said Parker.
Parker says any investment now will at least, in the meantime, help the district with its baseball program at Smokey Joe.
“I know the school district wants to build a new baseball facility but obviously that’s going to be two or three, maybe four years away just because of bonding and all that kind of stuff that has to take place, but they have the opportunity to upgrade these fields with some nice turf grass,” said Parker.
Again, the district says the order for the designs does not obligate it to constructing new fields, but it will put it in the right direction for either immediate or future planning.