Grant Development for Baseball/Fastpitch Facility

We are pleased to announce a grant development involving South Bend School District and two private foundations:  Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation and the Ben B. Cheney Foundation.  The grant could provide approximately $500,000 to construct an all-weather synthetic turf baseball/fastpitch field at Cheney Park in South Bend.

The South Bend Board of Directors will meet early next week to approve a memorandum of understanding between the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation and the district.  The Ben. B. Cheney Foundation will formalize their grant participation at their quarterly meeting in early March.  Project planning will begin in January.

The Project

The South Bend school board greenlighted the high school baseball and fastpitch program in August, 2016.  SB will play our first season without a home field this Spring, 2017.  Since the August board meeting, we have been working hard to find resources to build the field.  The initial project goal was to build an all-weather field at Cheney Park that would allow South Bend to play in various weather conditions.

We have been working with the City of South Bend since August to enter into a long-term lease agreement for Cheney Park.  The South Bend City Council approved the lease agreement at their November council meeting.  This agreement provides the school district with full access to the sports field and allows the district to make improvements.  The district will also manage field use.

Grant Funding

We have been talking with the Cheney Foundation for several months about the project and they have been excited about the prospect of bringing baseball and fastpitch back to South Bend.  To date, the Cheney Foundation has provided funding to purchase all of our baseball and fastpitch uniforms and has funded the majority of our equipment and supplies.  Recently, however, they informed us of their desire to provide a significant grant towards the construction of the field.  This and a new development with the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation allows us to move to the design and planning process.

Completed Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation field project

The Baltimore based Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation (CRSF) grant came in last week and will provide the remainder of the funding needed to construct our facility.  They have built over 70 synthetic turf fields across the nation.  South Bend will have the third field constructed in Washington State.

How it works

The CRSF grant works in partnership with the school district and other outside funding partners.  The initial budget of $528,868 requires a 50-60% match.  In our case, much of this match could be met through the generous support of the Cheney Foundation.  The remainder of the budget is provided through funding partners tied to the CRSF grant program, and the Foundation itself.  CRSF will also provide project management and will implement all design, planning, and construction aspects of the project.

When will construction begin?

We hope construction can begin in June, when the weather improves.  It is our hope to have the field completed by the end of the summer, and we intend to play on the new field Spring of 2018.  CRSF, the district, and the City will be working together to ensure the project moves forward smoothly.  We will also be planning for future maintenance and upkeep of the facility.

Further Information

This field project is a major development for both the school district and the City of South Bend.  The completed park will serve youth programs, the school district, and the community for years to come.  Regular updates will be provided to the public as the project moves forward.

Questions on this project or other issues related to South Bend School District should be directed to Superintendent Jon Tienhaara at jtienhaa@southbendschools.org.