A tree near the Sword Avenue baseball diamond was felled by high winds. The diamond is planned to be decommissioned by the city of Quesnel. (Cassidy Dankochik Photo - Quesnel Cariboo Observer)

Quesnel planning on shutting down ballfields

City council hopes maximize the usage at West Fraser Timber Park and Barlow Creek

  • Jan. 22, 2021 12:00 a.m.

Quesnel is planning on shutting down the Sword Avenue baseball diamond. The field is located next to the city’s new public works building.

The measure was approved by city council at their Jan. 19 meeting on recommendation from their Financial Sustainability and Audit Committee.

The city is also anticipating shutting down the baseball field at Cariboo Park in the near future, and teased the possibility of moving the little league stadium out of Lebourdais Park.

“This is long overdue work,” Mayor Bob Simpson said. “We’re trying to figure out how we maximize our investments in this amenity in our community.”

The city hopes to increase the potential and usage of baseball fields inside West Fraser Timber Park and Ranger Park in Barlow Creek.

Councillor Scott Elliott delivered the report, noting city staff will be meeting with baseball field user groups

“We need to tighten up the booking of the different ballfield organizations in the city,” he said. It the past there have been blanket bookings of different fields to ensure availability for specific leagues. We need to have accurate booking from every one of those leagues, as we may have to look at booking fees in the future.”

City staff will also take feedback from user groups, trying to determine what needs to improvement at the two parks so they are ready to host events and all levels of baseball and softball in the city.

The Quesnel Horseshoe Club, which is situated right next to the Sword Avenue baseball diamond, will not be affected by the decommissioning.

READ MORE: Nazko hosts tourney on new diamond

Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: cassidy.dankochik@quesnelobserver.com


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Quesnel Cariboo Observer