Work is expected to begin this week on a privately funded overhaul of the Unioto High School baseball facility, including a new turf infield, the Union-Scioto Local School District said, according to the Scioto Valley Guardian.
Superintendent Matt Thornsberry said in a district statement that the project includes turfing the infield and making several additional improvements to the baseball facility at Unioto High School, the Scioto Valley Guardian reported. The district hopes to have the work finished before winter, weather permitting, according to the statement.
Thornsberry stressed that no public money is paying for the work. “This project is being funded entirely through private donations, sponsorships, and fundraising efforts,” Thornsberry said in the statement reported by the Scioto Valley Guardian. “No taxpayer dollars or Union-Scioto School District general fund dollars are being used for this project.”
The superintendent credited individuals, families, businesses, sponsors and volunteers for contributing money, time and sponsorships to move the project forward, according to the Scioto Valley Guardian. While the district did not initiate or fund the project itself, Thornsberry said school officials support it because of the long-term benefits for student-athletes and the baseball program.
A turf infield changes the daily reality of a high school baseball program in Ross County. Natural infields are the first part of a field lost to spring rain, and a turf surface typically drains faster, needs less daily preparation and can host practices and games on days when dirt and grass fields are unplayable — benefits district officials cited in supporting a project paid for entirely by the community around the program.
The district’s statement, as reported by the Scioto Valley Guardian, did not publish a total project cost, a donor list or a contractor’s name, and it described the additional facility improvements only in general terms. What is established is the funding model — private money only — the scope’s centerpiece, a turf infield, and the target of finishing before winter.
What happens next is construction itself: work beginning this week, with the district’s stated goal of finishing before winter sets in, weather permitting. If the schedule holds, Unioto’s baseball program would take the field next spring on a new turf infield built without a levy, a bond issue or a dollar of general fund money.
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