Matching fund set up to raise money for ballfield

By Ginna Young

“I take great pride in our parks and recreation here,” said Ashley Carothers. “I take a lot of pride in Cornell altogether.”

That’s why Carothers and others, are raising money to revamp the Mill Yard Park baseball field. Located close to the Chippewa River, Carothers says her son and daughter used the field for t-ball, and that her son now uses it for youth baseball.

Over the years, her family has watched the field decline. Carothers says the city needs a safe environment for the youth to have somewhere to go to play, learn skills, make friends, and build camaraderie between kids and parents.

Right now, the field fence is in bad shape.

“When you look at it, you can see the bulgings of the fence, you can see the links that are really pulled out,” said Carothers. “From what I’m told, that fence is at least 40 years old, if not more.”

The backstop is also in bad condition, the dugouts need to be redone to shield the youth from sun and the infield needs replacing.

“Those are things that can be done throughout the season, but the problem is, it’s so expensive to do these things, that it becomes an issue within the city budget,” said Carothers. “The ballfield isn’t a need for the city, it’s more of a want, but for these kids, it’s needed.”

Because of that, a fund was set up at Northwestern Bank in Cornell, called the City of Cornell-Field of Dreams fund. Donors are needed to build the fund balance and any donations above a “single” will see the business/individual’s name placed on a 3x5 banner on the ballfield fence.

After crunching numbers, the group raising money decided that $50,000 is required to get the field up to snuff.

“It was $28,000 just for the fencing alone,” said Carothers.

To help get the money raised for the project, Northwestern Bank set up a match challenge for the community – if the group can raise $10,000, the bank will match it.

“We would like it to go as fast as it can so they can get the project going and get some of it done by maybe next spring,” said bank vice president Wendy Mittermeyer.

A bowling tournament is also in the works for Saturday, Sept. 18, from noon to 6 p.m., at Schick’s Bowl & Brew, with the proceeds donated to the field project. During the event, there will be raffles and food, with baskets needed to hand out as prizes.

If any money is left over, the group will use the funds for repairs of the concession stand and the roof on the field’s storage shed. Carothers says she hopes by the time they are ready to replace the fence and do the other work, that the cost of materials will come down.

“I’m very grateful to all those that have donated so far,” said Carothers. “The community’s support is definitely overwhelming in a good way.”