The West Liberty Community School District has received its first donation from another local organization to help fund the new athletic complex. West Liberty Comet Baseball Club is giving $10,000 to help pay for the scoreboard at the new baseball field.
“We wanted to do something significant to show support for this project,” said board member and coach, Todd Morrison. “We fundraise to support our club, so we felt giving $10,000 of our money shows how much we think the community needs this.”
The current high school baseball fields are located by the elementary school and have a long list of issues and needed repairs. The Comet Baseball Club is hoping new facilities foster a sense of pride in the community.
“Comet Baseball is donating to help provide opportunities to our student athletes,” said board member and coach, Justin Wainwright. “Our baseball family ranges from age six to fourteen years old, and they have done an excellent job with fundraising, working hard, and making the baseball program a success. We want families to go to games and be proud of a facility they helped make happen. This is about community pride in our arts and athletics programs.”
The new facility will address issues that exist with the current design including uneven playing fields, potholes, and no ADA compliant seating. However, the club believes the impact of a new athletic complex reaches beyond physical improvements.
Wainwright continued, “New facilities give our kids an opportunity to develop skills and knowledge that they can’t with our current set up. We hope this leads to school curriculum on health and fitness giving kids opportunities to learn skills and habits that impact the rest of their life. We hope it builds our community and brings more families and businesses to town and makes West Liberty more attractive to new families. We believe this will make us more competitive with surrounding towns and cities. We are developing leaders with our youth, and we want them to be life-long West Liberty residents.”
The school administration is thrilled to receive support from another community organization. “I’m continually overwhelmed by how this community comes together,” said Superintendent Shaun Kruger. “I’m beyond grateful to receive a financial gift this size from another group that relies on fundraising for revenue.”
Activities Director, Adam Loria, has met with several non-profits and community organizations to present the project and answer questions. “I’ve met several board members from the Comet Baseball Club, and they are a class act group of guys,” said Loria. “They put a ton of volunteer hours into developing our youth, which ultimately feeds our high school program, and now they are putting up money. I can’t thank them enough for that type of support.”
The baseball fields will break ground in mid-fall with a hope of a season opener in the new facility in spring of 2024.