Donations for new baseball field matched through May 1
After losing access to the privately owned baseball field at Bear Creek last year, nonprofit Bigfork Youth Baseball Association has found a new location set to open this spring.
The Bear Creek property was home to Babe Ruth Baseball for 50 years and was being used for the newly formed Bigfork High School baseball program. Due to business and insurance concerns, the landowners ultimately abstained from rededicating the field to public use.
With no other field within 20 miles, the high school team practiced in their gym and played their “home games” at ABS Park in Evergreen last season. The Babe Ruth team practiced on pee wee league fields in Bigfork and played their home games in Whitefish and Columbia Falls.
No county, school district, state or federal land were available for a baseball field in the Bigfork area, and BYBA started a search for private land. In fall of 2024, BYBA entered a long-term lease with the Roman Catholic Bishop of Helena to utilize five acres of land at Saint John Paul II Catholic Church on Coverdell Road for a community baseball field. Beyond serving the community’s existing needs, the field also provides additional baseball opportunities in the future, including 13U+ all-stars and American Legion.
Businesses, individuals, family charitable trusts, and charitable foundations have donated money, labor and equipment for the project. It is anticipated that both baseball teams will be practicing and playing games on the new field sometime in April 2025 thanks to their efforts. However, BYBA still faces substantial costs to complete the project. A northwest Montana family, which wishes to remain anonymous, has set up a dollar-for-dollar matching donation up to $25,000 through May 1, 2025.
Remaining projects include warning track dirt, scoreboard, foul poles, pitcher's mound, batter's boxes, batting cage, exterior perimeter hydro seed, and the parking area. Materials still needed include a mower, rollers, numerous hand tools required for field prep and maintenance, storage, restrooms and concessions. Routine annual operating expenses will include fertilizer, weed spray, baseline chalk, gasoline, insurance, electricity, and annual lease payments. With ongoing expenses, BYBA anticipates ongoing fundraising needs.
Tax-deductible donations can be made by check to: Bigfork Youth Baseball Association, PO Box 1822, Bigfork, MT 59911. Online donations can be made at https://fieldbuild.squarespace.com/donate.
“BYBA has accomplished a lot in a short time, and much remains,” head of fundraising Dan Purcell wrote in a press release.