Play ball — four times over

County hopes complex draws high school, college contests

As an influx of professional sports teams begins to reshape tourism in the Las Vegas Valley, Clark County plans to harness America’s pastime to attract even more fans for college and high school teams.

The county broke ground Wednesday morning on what will be the county’s first baseball diamond fourplex. Located next to Mountains Edge Regional Park, the Desert Diamonds Baseball Complex should be finished this year.

Las Vegas 51s president Don Logan said he expects the complex to be bustling during the summertime when high school students want to play ball but their schools’ facilities are closed.

“You can’t play baseball on a Little League field,” he said. “This place will be as busy as they want it to be.”

The $16 million project will include natural turf, bleachers, lights and sun shade. One field will meet NCAA guidelines and will have seating for 300 people, a scoreboard and an announcers booth.

Richard Construction is under contract to build the fourplex.

“This is going to be iconic. There’s nothing like it in the state,” said County Commissioner Susan Brager, who has worked on the project for close to a decade. “I think our youth need to know we care about their future, and this shows that.”

The complex will be available for use by youth and adult recreational leagues, but commissioners have bigger plans.

“I would venture to say that this will be booked year-round for tournaments, and not only the tournaments that are coming for the high school players,” said Commissioner Larry Brown, a former professional baseball player. “This, combined with the new (Las Vegas 51s) Triple-a facility (in Summerlin) and some of the high school facilities here, we could host as a premier of a baseball college tournament as anyother place in the country.”

Commissioners are also investing money to increase play areas for other non-professional sports. A lighted 16-field youth soccer complex is expected to open near Cimarron and Robindale roads by spring 2019.

Both projects will be funded in part from $77.4 million commissioners pledged toward improving and constructing local parks in August.

Contact Michael Scott Davidson at sdavidson@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Follow @davidsonlvrj on Twitter.

Michael Quine Las Vegas Review-journal @Vegas88s Clark County Commissioner Susan Brager speaks as Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak listens at a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday for the Desert Diamonds Baseball Complex.