Board OKs spending for new locker rooms at Arvest Ballpark

SPRINGDALE — The Public Facilities Board on Wednesday agreed to a contract of $20,000 to design a renovated locker room for baseball teams visiting Arvest Ballpark.

The commission accepted a bid from Ballpark Design Associates in Overland Park, Kan.

A conceptual plan by Martin DiNitto of Ballpark Design Associates includes a 1,200-square-foot expansion of the building. The expansion will take over a grassy area on the stadium’s southwestern side, near the main gate, said Justin Cole, general manager of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals.

The Naturals team is a minor league affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The Springdale team is owned by Rich Products Corp. in New York.

The city built Arvest Ballpark with voter approval of a bond in 2006. The Public Facilities Board oversees the ballpark and other industrial properties for the city.

The team rents the stadium from the city, with payments going into an account to pay for maintenance and capital improvements at the stadium. The account held $200,369 in assets as of Jan. 31, according to a report by the facilities board.

Minor League Baseball before the 2020 season announced required stadium upgrades for all ballparks to be completed by 2025, Cole said.

Cole said he hopes to bid the project in May or June, with construction beginning in October and completed before the first pitch is thrown in 2024.

Ballpark Design Associates also will work with team management to identify a local construction company and budget for the construction project, Cole said.

DiNitto was the principal architect and designer for Arvest Ballpark’s initial construction, when he was with HOK Sport + Recreation + Entertainment, now Populous Inc.

More recently, DiNitto worked with Minor League Baseball in developing facility standards for the league.

The team’s current visitor space at Arvest Stadium can be reworked according to the standards, with only the small expansion needed, Cole said.

The project on the visiting team’s side will include expanding the training room from 200 to 300 square feet, expanding the food preparation and dining area from 135 to 300 square feet, expanding the clubhouse and dressing room from 850 to 1,000 square feet and expanding the coaches’ dressing area from four lockers totaling 124 square feet to seven lockers totaling 220 square feet.

The team replaced the playing field for $ 737,000 during this offseason. Cole said the field did not meet the Minor League’s standards but was due for replacement at 15 years under a maintenance guide given to the team when the stadium opened in 2008.

The team added a required separate dressing area for female staff and officials for $ 48,000 after the 2021 season.