As a coach and softball parent, Brock Anderson knows the disappointment of a game or weekend tournament being washed out by rain.
Since coming to Seward as a baseball coach, assistant softball coach, elementary school physical education teacher in 2012 and having a child playing competitive softball, he talked about replacing Seward’s natural ball field with artificial turf that would allow the rain to drain off and the game to continue.
A little more than a year ago, he gathered a group to talk about those fields after seeing other communities convert to turf.
Thus was born Seward’s Turf Committee, a varied group of 17 community members who have helped design some dreams for the Seward baseball and softball fields at Plum Creek Park.
They have looked at options engineered specifically for softball and baseball fields that are meeting safety and other standards, but “play pretty naturally,” Anderson said.
Most turf fields are guaranteed for 10 years, but often go 12 to 14 years before having to be replaced. He said they require some routine maintenance but less than a grass field if used appropriately.
Seward Public School and the Concordia University baseball and softball teams use the city-owned fields for games and practices. Discussions also included youth leagues and Legion baseball teams.
“We got to where we had a good plan,” Anderson said. “We started going out and raising money.”
Their pitch to the Seward School Board and Superintendent Josh Fields was well received and the city of Seward and Concordia University have brought their wishes and master plans for fields into the discussion, allowing them to start building momentum like a team adding base hits together for runs.
It helps that the Turf Committee has raised around $600,000 in gifts and commitments.
“We feel really, really good with where we are,” Anderson said.
He is optimistic that the Seward High School softball team’s fall season could be the first to use the turf field in 2025. Work on the field could begin shortly after July 4th, which is a “downtime” for baseball and softball.
Now, their goal of raising around $1 million to replace the infield at the Legion Field with a rubber-based product to cut the number of rain-related cancellations and delays has taken a broader view, even though the parties have not yet created any formal compact.
The Seward School Board pledged $200,000 over four years for the project, which is included in the $600,000 total.
City Wellness Center Director Joel Brase is a member of the Turf Committee, and the city has submitted an application for a 2025 Nebraska Game and Parks Commission matching grant that, if successful, could double what has been raised so far.
Concordia University, which uses the fields at Plum Creek for its baseball and softball teams, has endorsed the partnership and encouraged turfing the outfields as funding allows, factoring in the college teams’ place in the campus master plans, and indicating in a news release its commitment to fund the first turf replacement in 10 or 12 years and to seek corporate sponsors and donors for the project.
In addition to the Seward Public Schools support, the Bluejay Boosters identified the field fundraising project as a priority for the recent annual Bluejay Bash fundraiser.
City Administrator Greg Butcher said gathering all parties to create a big picture vision for the ball fields just made sense.
“Generally, everybody got together and said, ‘yeah, that sounds great,’” Butcher said.
He said putting together a master plan for the park involves identifying what is needed, what would be nice, and what would be ideal. Then the financing helps determine what can be done and whether some things can be addressed in phases over the next few years, which the city, schools, Concordia, and the Turf Committee are now looking at.
The ideal plan includes turfing the Legion baseball field, the softball field and Field 4 across Karol Kay Boulevard, as well as improvements for spectators, including seating and restrooms. If everything on the list remains priority, the price tag could be $9 or $10 million.
“We will continue to own the fields, and we will continue to handle the general maintenance,” Butcher said.
Concordia University Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer David Kumm said upgraded fields will be helpful for Bulldog teams, who have sometimes had to travel to Lincoln or south to Kansas to lease fields or host “home” games on their opponents’ fields due to weather conditions.
Having the softball field and eventually Field 4 turfed, as well, could ease scheduling for the local teams and provide tournament hosting opportunities, and in Concordia’s case, post-season competition.
Some of the teams who end up leasing other college’s turfed fields rather than canceling games in season may also be interested in renting Seward’s fields, Kumm said.
The inclusion of the softball fields is also important for Concordia, Kumm said, because while the park offers several fields for softball, the team does not yet have “that premiere field” for home competitions.
Seward’s park could become a “destination spot” for baseball and softball tournaments.
Seward School Superintendent Josh Fields said the district is pleased with the collaborative effort that includes parents and other community members working to improve the fields.
“The Turf Committee was a big part of getting this started” Fields said.
Kumm agreed the collaboration is good.
“Seeing how we can all work together to get a great facility that meets all of our needs is a great asset and blessing for Seward,” he said.
