JUST A SEVENTH INNING STRETCH
Funding, COVID-19 delay new collegiate baseball
Plans for the first collegiate baseball team in Royal Oak are not so much canceled as in a long seventh inning stretch.
Mark Sackett, president of the Royal Oak Leprechauns and chairman of the nonprofit Michigan Red Sox youth baseball organization, said his summer collegiate team will now start during the 2021 season instead of this year.
A stall in fundraising and fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic are causing the delay.
Sackett signed a deal with the city last year to upgrade a field at Memorial Park. Some work has been completed, such as new fencing, backstop padding and new dugouts.
But the top improvement – artificial turf – is on the backburner
“We still need another $300,000,” Sackett said. “We got (financial) commitments last (fall) then it started drying up.”
His team is a member of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League and is moving here after playing as the Irish Hills Leprechauns in Lenawee County’s Adrian.
“We had a big fundraiser planned for March,” Sackett said. “Then, with the (coronavirus) coming in, it shut us down.”
Costs for complete renovations at the field include $160,000 for excavating and $180,000 for the artificial turf.
John Fedele, the city’s recreation department superintendent, started talks with Sackett more than a year ago that resulted in a deal with the city.
“It was decided to hold off the renovations until August,” he said. “I made the decision to keep the field open so teams currently scheduled to play can still play” this season.
The prospect of having 21 collegiate team games in Royal Oak and the improved regulationsize ball field has been seen by most as a boon for the city.
Residents and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board have supported Sackett’s move to bring college level baseball to Royal Oak without affecting use of the park by others or the Royal Oak Sandlot League.
“The buzz is still there,” Fedele said. “And everyone is still excited.”
The city signed a 10-year contract with Sackett back in August 2019.
Royal Oak Leprechauns still plan to play their amateur collegiate games at field 3 three inside Memorial Park at 13 Mile and Woodward.
City officials expect to see more rentals and people at the park after the field is complete. Hundreds are likely to turn out for Leprechaun games with food trucks and team merchandise sales, Sackett has said.
Sackett is a Troy school teacher and Birmingham resident. He was a member of the 1988 Birmingham Class A high school championship team coached his father, Don Sackett.
Despite the delay, Fedele said he remains optimistic things will fall into place for the Royal Oak Leprechauns to play in 2021.
“Good things take time,” he said.