Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 4, 1993 TAG: 9311040179
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV12 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Rick Lindquist Staff Writer
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
"I just got tired of playing on those old dumpy fields," said Snell, who served as an umpire but did not play last season.
Radford's field of dreams will be a dream come true for Snell and other local softball enthusiasts, who should be able to enjoy the twin diamonds in the city's newest park by late next spring.
The new fields will be "a great plus for Radford," he said. "It makes me smile."
Snell said he hopes to play on the City League and umpire in the Church League when the fields are finished.
City Council this week approved design plans for the ballfield construction on a 32-acre site along the New River, which was donated to the city last year by DMI Corp., a development firm that owns an adjacent apartment complex.
Some land-transfer legalities remain, and the plans still must be approved by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, which is helping to fund the project. Even so, city officials hope construction can start this winter, as weather permits, once a contract is awarded sometime after the first of the year.
"There's a demand for it, no doubt about it," Assistant City Manger Bob Lloyd said of the new park, which will be right downstream from the city's popular Bisset Park.
The city hopes to eventually connect the two riverside parks via a road and a bikeway, along existing city rights of way. City officials still aren't sure how much the project will cost. "We won't know anything until we get the design's completed," City Engineer Jim Hurt said Wednesday.
A Virginia Department of Transportation Virginia Byways grant of $166,000 will help pay to build part of the acess road to the park; the city will fund the balance. The new road will extend Hunter's Ridge Road, which DMI had built for its apartment complex.
The city also has been awarded a $159,600 Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation matching grant to build the playing field.
If all goes as planned, Radford City League and Church League teams could be using the new fields when the season opens in early May.
"That would be nice," said Greg Holbrook, recreation supervisor for the city.
Eight teams played last year using the McHarg and Belle Heth elementary school fields. Holbrook said he anticipates additional teams to form once the new fields start getting a workout.
Both fields will have lights for night games.
by CNB