By Will French and Nolan Karlitz
Over the years, baseball here at Benicia has been very successful. Last season, the Panthers were put in the division one bracket for playoffs, and won their first game, achieving history for being the first Benicia team to win a division one playoff game.
Many memories were created in this field, but change is necessary for the future. They are now renovating the field to be a full turf facility. According to Ms. Kleinschmidt, “the remodel will include a full turf field with one baseball field, one softball field, practice field, batting cages, bathrooms, concession area, storage, parking lot, lighting (ability to play night games), new dugouts, and bleachers/seating.” In other words, this means that the Benicia field will be looking as good as ever.
Ms. K states that the costs can’t be disclosed as of right now. “the project is out to bid so once we have the bids back and the Board approves the bid, hopefully at the December 18th Board Meeting, we will then know the cost.” Due to the unknown costs, we are unable to determine the range that this project will cost.
Ms. K exclaimed that, “We are excited to provide upgraded facilities that our students, coaches, and community have been asking for for several years. This project will improve safety of the field conditions for our student-athletes, expanded use of the facilities with lighting, ability to practice and play at night, safer parking and access to the fields from Military West, restrooms at the lower fields (no more rented port-a-potties), concessions, and more. Overall, the facilities will match the level of the teams and athletes using them. We have excellent programs and want to provide excellent fields and facilities to match.”
The new changes will be amazing, and we are very excited to see what the school has in store for us. According to these quotes, this sounds like a very nice facility that is being built, and it will look better than ever.
beniciapaw.com 