After an opening day delay, The Doug Kerr Little League Field is ready for play!

Some Minor baseball players took to the field Thursday
making use of the reopening of the Doug Kerr Field
(photo from PR Minor Softball)

The call of Play Ball can now be heard at a familiar spot in the City, with the Doug Kerr Field now ready for play for the city's Little league and softball players.

The City of Prince Rupert declared the field open this morning with a Facebook Post entry, making note of the opening and the list of community partners that helped bring the project forward.

As we noted on the blog last month, the opening of the field was delayed owing to the severe windstorm that rolled across the city in mid April, which delivered a fair bit of damage to the turf which city crews had to address.

The City has announced plans for an Official Opening to take place sometime this month, with a date yet to be announced by the City.

As the City observes, the project came together thanks to the support of a number of local organizations and companies, and yesterday the Port of Prince Rupert highlighted some of that community effort to bring the field back to life.

As part of their participation in the project the Port made use of its Community Investment Fund, contributing $41,500 towards the work on the field and park infrastructure.

Joe Rektor, the Interim President and CEO for the Port of Prince Rupert took note of the Port's commitment to the community, with the Doug Kerr project part of their focus on recreational activities.

“Creating and restoring recreational assets in the Prince Rupert area has been one of the most obvious outcomes of our Community Investment Fund, and we’re excited to help bring Doug Kerr Field back into use for minor baseball and softball,”  ..."The size and central location of the field is ideal for younger players, and we look forward to seeing kids enjoying the sport here for many years to come.”

For more items of note related to the Port's Community Investment Fund can be found here.

Pembina Pipelines contributed $30,000 towards the project with Sperling Hansen, Rupert Wood’N Steel, L & M Engineering, Broadwater Industries, and RONA Tyee Building Supplies also lending their assistance to the effort.

Prince Rupert Mayor Lee Brain also offered up a few notes on the return of the field for the use of the youth of the city.

“The City of Prince Rupert is thankful for the support of local businesses like the Port of Prince Rupert who recognized the importance of this project and provided the funding to ensure it happened in time for the 2018 baseball and softball seasons,” ... “It’s great to see new and expanded recreation options for the youth of Prince Rupert, and Doug Kerr Field will be a legacy asset for this community as we continue to grow in the coming years.”

The City has posted a few pictures of yesterday's first day of action at the field, which you can review here.

Prince Rupert Minor Softball celebrated the opening of the field through their Facebook page.

The North Coast Minor Baseball Association has also updated their field schedules to reflect the times that they will have access to the field.

More items of note related to the work of City Council can be found on our Council Discussion page.

To return to the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.