Lagoon Park softball getting much-needed facelift
Lagoon Park softball will get a facelift in the coming months, the first upgrade in nearly 50 years. (File photo)
By TIM GAYLE
City officials will begin work next week on a $2.4 million renovation project of Lagoon Park Softball Complex, replacing the fencing, dugouts and backstops of the five-field facility in the first major upgrade in its 47-year history.
But is it too little, too late?
In 2017, as the city’s contract with the Alabama High School Athletic Association was nearing an end, AHSAA officials asked the city for several upgrades to continue holding the state softball tournament at Lagoon Park Softball Complex.
In response, the city planned a new LED lighting system for all six fields; an umpires’ fieldhouse for showers and rest between games when large crews are needed for tournaments; the creation of a pavilion to replace berms between the fields; additional restroom areas; a new entrance between the five original fields and Field 6 to bring the fields under one architectural umbrella; and conversion of Field 6 to a signature stadium for championship or collegiate events.
While additional restrooms were constructed and some modifications were made to Field 6 in the seven years since the city’s planned upgrades, some of the biggest issues have not been addressed with the planned renovations.
Both press box facilities, the one at the main facility completed in 1977 and the press box at Field 6 constructed in 1997, are in dire need of an upgrade to bring both in line with newer facilities. The Field 6 press box, which oversees the complex’s signature stadium upgraded to host premier high school and collegiate games, was constructed before television and radio broadcasting of softball games existed and is not adequate to hold such events.
Since 2017, a pair of restroom facilities have been added and the upcoming renovations will bring the complex in line with the AHSAA demands from seven years ago, but the complex’s status as one of the nation’s finest facilities may be a legacy lost to history if the planned upgrades are any indication.
Instead of making plans to bring the facility back to its status as a trend setter, the upgrades will merely address past concerns and bring temporary relief to an aging facility.
AHSAA officials, meanwhile, moved the state tournament to Oxford’s Choccolocco Park, another complex whose layout of softball fields followed that of Lagoon Park and opened in 2016. Lagoon Park, meanwhile, received an AHSAA regional in place of the state tournament.
While Lagoon Park still hosts the 24-team Alabama Independent School Association state softball tournament and the 52-team AHSAA regional, other major events, particularly those involving college teams, end up at other complexes in the state.
The upgrades to the five-field complex, however, will at least bring the facility in line with other facilities in the state by converting it to a fast pitch field with upgraded dugouts and backstops. (When the facility opened in 1977, it was designed for slow pitch softball).
The upgrade will take out all existing fencing and replace it with black powder coat fencing that will feature a permanent outfield fence with a 220-foot center field depth and 200 feet along the corners.
New enlarged dugouts will be constructed, although those “dugouts” will actually be above-ground areas like those that are currently on site, just larger in size to accommodate the larger-sized high school teams.
The current men’s restrooms, constructed two years ago, will be cut in half to include an umpire’s room with a shower and a seating area.
A pavilion for fans will be constructed between Field 3 and Field 4 to provide some shade for visitors.
A lighted batting cage behind the outfield will be constructed, featuring a turf surface.
Each of the five backstops will be converted from chain-link fence to netting, which will extend to the ground and anchor into decorative curbing.
Each of the five fields will be adjusted toward their respective outfields, creating more backstop area. The move will also lead to a better lighted field. Years ago, early in the park’s history, the fields were brought in approximately 10 feet, which inadvertently altered the lighting on the field. Now, with the fields pushed back, the home plate area will be lighted properly.
Yet, in one of the most controversial decisions involving the renovation, the lighting will not be converted to LED lighting. Seven years ago, city representatives ventured to the University of Alabama’s Rhoads Stadium to see its newly installed LED lights and brought back a plan to install the same lighting at Lagoon Park Softball Complex.
The upfront costs of installing an LED stadium lighting system are high, but thanks to the significant cost savings in utility bills and maintenance, the investment pays itself back quickly. The average cost of lighting the five fields will be cut by two-thirds or more with LED lighting and the replacement time for light bulbs will be approximately five times longer.
In addition, there are no proposed changes to the concession area at the main field house, which was constructed nearly 50 years ago when a soft drink and a box of popcorn were the only essentials, or at Field 6, which is significantly smaller and has trouble preparing specialty items in an age where food is paramount at a sporting event.
All of the changes were proposed for the main complex. There are no proposed changes for Field 6, which at the very least needs a new netting backstop to replace the chain link backstop. The fast pitch field located at the park entrance does, however, include dugouts that were upgraded in 2021.
While it’s not part of the initial renovation, the movement of the five fields toward their respective outfields will create new dugouts farther down the first-base and third-base lines. The extra space between the backstop and the dugouts is expected to include shaded bleachers, which will be paid out of discretionary funds separate from the renovation costs.
The construction is expected to take an estimated five months.