City council approves new netting for Edith Gay Park

Photo: Contributed

The one-liners were flying as readily as home runs and foul balls at Edith Gay Park on a cloudless summer afternoon.

The topic was flying baseballs and the need to protect adjoining residential properties and infrastructures from well struck projectiles.

Apparently netting, and not smaller bats as Coun. Ryan Donn playfully suggested, is the answer.

Sport and event services manager Doug Nicholas explained Field 3 at the Rutland park is one of three performance baseball fields, accommodating the highest levels of baseball in the city.

Nicholas says as communities grow around some of these fields, and as technology and athletic performance evolve, the need is greater for safety measures to protect those properties in the the line of fire.

Work to install netting at one of the other performance fields, Lombardy Park Field 5, is scheduled for this year.

"During preliminary budget in December, council directed staff to report back on the Edith Gay Park netting requirement costs," he said.

The overall cost, Nicholas says, is estimated at about $250,000.

"To address the safety concerns related to errant balls on the site, a full replacement of the netting system in left field is required, and further netting is needed in right field to protect adjacent properties."

Approximately $77,000 could come from the city's sport field reserve fund.

City manager Doug Gilchrist suggested the additional funds should not have a significant impact on the city's 2021 budget.

Those final numbers are expected to come to the table in a few weeks.

If the numbers don't break the bank, then balls likely won't break neighbouring windows either.