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July 23, 2010

Princeton Rays ... Home field could use new turf

By TAMMIE TOLER Princeton Times

PRINCETON —  While Princeton Rays fans have cheered on the home team this summer, supporters have been hard at work behind the scenes to keep professional baseball in Princeton.

Recently, Princeton Mayor Dewey Russell asked the City of Princeton to consider contributing $50,000 to a $1.2 million effort to purchase and install artificial turf at the home of the Rays. Without the turf and more improvements to a five-mile-long underground drainage system, Russell said he and other members of the Princeton Baseball Association fear the Tampa Rays will not renew the team’s contract after this season.

“After a lot of investigation and meetings with several companies ... it’s come to the conclusion that the field needs turf, just like Anne S. Hunnicutt [Stadium],” he said.

In 2008, Hunnicutt Field underwent a massive construction project to install the intricate drainage system, 102 sprinklers and a level infield playing “skin,” but the results just didn’t work as well as Rays officials hoped. The field, which has served as the home to an Appalachian League baseball team since the late 1980s, is situated in a swampy area that remains damp, even when surrounding areas drain and dry.

Russell explained the situation during the July 14 Princeton City Council Finance and Administration Committee meeting, where the turf idea garnered support from Councilwoman Pat Wilson.

“I’m in favor of it. We go to the games. We enjoy it,” she said.

Councilman Chris Stanley said he could see the concerns shared by the Tampa Rays organization.

When potential big-leaguers hone their skills on farm teams, the idea is to get them as much playing time as possible.

“If it’s muddy and wet, they can’t play. That’s a major problem for the Rays,” Stanley said.

A soggy field full of mud also presents a greater risk of injury, possibly ending young stars’ careers before they really begin.

Russell said one local charitable foundation has already agreed to fund a portion of the turf project, and he hoped the Mercer County Board of Education, which officially owns the field and uses it for high school competition, would also get involved.

City Manager Wayne Shumate said the finance staff would have to crunch the numbers and report back to the Council in August, before promising any amount of money.

Russell said consideration was all he was asking, but he reminded the committee of the economic impact the Rays have on Princeton, as players, supporters, families and more make their way to the smallest city to host professional baseball in the nation.

“I just don’t think the community can afford to lose professional baseball,” he said.

— Contact Tammie Toler at ttoler@ptonline.net.

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