First of all, let’s dispel the rumor that the Sharks are not coming back next season.
The Sharks, Martha’s Vineyard’s collegiate summer baseball team, have 4 projects queued up between now and the opening of the 2013 baseball season, each requiring approval by the Martha’s Vineyard school system. The most significant project would be the installation of lights so that we can introduce night games. Lights would be a beacon to attract many more fans than the attendance recorded during our first two years. The past two years our games started at 5:00 PM, which was in direct competition against the Vineyard beaches; a competition we never won on a hot summer day. Our games, if the project is completed, would move to a starting time of approximately 7:00 PM to accommodate local residents coming home from work and vacationers coming back from the beach. This project would also have to be approved by the Federal Aviation Agency as the baseball field is located near the Martha’s Vineyard airport.
Proposed lights for Vineyard Baseball Park
To complement the introduction of lights we would build approximately 400 stadium seats behind home plate running the length between the two dugouts. We will presell approximately 200 seats to finance this particular project. How would this work? You would purchase two years upfront ($150 per year * 2 years = $300 per seat) and get a third year for free. Your name would be delineated on the seat.
An example of stadium-type seats
Currently there is a chain link fence between the two dugouts behind home plate with vertical and horizontal support bars that are an obstruction when watching the game. This would be replaced with traditional netting over a brick facade wall.
An example of netting and wall to improve fans’ view of the game
The final project would be landscaping around the circumference of the baseball field inside Vineyard Baseball Park. This project would be completed after the aforementioned projects are finished.
Stadium seating with 7 sections and platform (8) for PA, statistician, broadcast announcers, etc.
All of the projects would be financed through a combination of funds received from ownership participation (already received), the presale of the stadium seats, a construction loan specifically for the lights, donations, and volunteer work. The process of obtaining requests for proposals is ongoing along with the process of preselling the stadium seats. If you want to purchase seats, again there is a limited number of pre-sold seats available on a “first to purchase, first to select seat numbers.” A great Christmas gift for the next three years!!
Next week we will be announcing our coaching staff for the 2013 summer collegiate baseball season.
