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| Press box, concession stand donated to BHS baseball team |
This press box, which used to overlook turn three at Martinsville Speedway, now overlooks the Baseball field at Bassett High School. (Bulletin photo by Mike Wray) |
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Wednesday, November 14, 2007
By RUSS CARTER - Bulletin Sports Writer
For years, the Bassett High School baseball and softball complex has operated without a concession stand or bathrooms. But thanks to the help of the community, the Bengals have dramatically upgraded their fields.
The first of two major upgrades to the baseball field is a press box donated to the school by Martinsville Speedway. The box provides the program with what Head Coach Bill Parks called a “shot in the arm.”
“Hopefully it brings excitement and some pride (to the program),” Sparks said after a ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday.
The press box was created out of a VIP suite from the Speedway that was going to be torn down during a building project last summer. Instead, the 36-foot-long building was transported intact to the high school on a flat bed truck with the help of Guy Turner Crane Service.
“It seemed like a perfect idea to me,” Speedway President Clay Campbell stated in a news release. “We had a building we didn’t need anymore and they had a need for a press box. The suite fit the bill perfectly... .”
Steve Martin, owner of Steve Martin Trenching, learned of the box while working at the Speedway. Along with Campbell, he came up with the idea of moving it to Bassett. Several local businesses and contractors made the idea happen.
Parks said there are several possible uses for the box. In addition to the media, scouts interested in recruiting Bengals players might use it, or it could be used as a VIP suite for parents and donors.
In addition to the press box, the Bassett baseball and softball programs also will enjoy a new bathroom and concession stand facility this season, thanks to further help from the community.
Both facilities were built using contributions and labor from donors. The press box project cost around $7,000 while the bathrooms/concessions cost $85-90,000. But according to Martin, the press box project went off with zero cost to the school system. While the concession project only cost the school the $10,000 donated by the Henry County School Board and the approximately $38,000 set aside from the Athletic Booster Club.
“We’re just trying to do something for the kids,” Martin said.
According to Martin it would of been easy to quit since there was so much work, but he said they had plenty of hard workers. And raising money for the project was something Martin did not shy away from either.
“We were not to bashful (asking for donations),” he said. “...But, Everybody came to the front for us.”
The new buildings give the complex at the high school a dramatic face-lift.
“It’s sad when you only have two port-a-johns and no running water,” Martin said. “We wanted more for our kids.”
Martin, also a member of the Virginia Baseball Association (a group made up of the Bassett baseball and softball teams and supporters), is a former Bengal baseball player and is familiar with the needs of the field.
He said the project was a difficult undertaking but will be worth it.
“It would of been easy to quit and give up,” he said. “But we had a lot of hard workers ... .”
Martin listed many businesses that contributed supplies and time. One of them was Virginia Blower Co., which donated all the heating and air conditioning for the press box and fabricated the support plates for its foundation.
Andy Weaver of the company, also a baseball parent, said he hopes the new facilities will provide more revenue for the program.
“This is a great thing,” Weaver said. “The concessions will bring in revenue to support the boosters.”
Weaver continued to say that with the upgraded field, the team might be able to attract tournaments and Amature Athletic Union (AAU) championships.
He also said it is important for the complex to continue to upgrade, and he hopes the new additions will be a step in the right direction.
His mentioned, as did Parks, the next goal should be to see lights installed at the field.
“That is an expense that will have to be heavily funded,” Weaver said. “Now it’s just coming up with the funding to make that a reality.”
Donors to the press box project, as provided in a list by Martin, include Steve Martin Trenching, Guy Turner Crane Service, Virginia Blower Co., Light Electric, Tim Moore Construction, Boxley Concrete Production, Frith Construction, Joe Rogers & Associates, Nelson Automotive Family, Cunningham Tire, Kiwanis Club of Bassett, Bassett Furniture Industries, Smith River Community Bank, Sanville Ruritan Club, Bassett Funeral Service, Dillon Insurance, Robert Haley Attorney, Bassett Mirror Co., and the Virginia Baseball Association.
Donors to the concession project were Steve Martin Trenching, Boxley Concrete Production, Light Electric, McKinney Heating & Air, Ferguson Enterprises, Tim Moore Construction, Kiwanis Club of Bassett, Dwight Bower, Joe Rogers & Associates, Bassett Ruritan Club, Wesley Wells, Bassett Printing, Bassett Garden Gate Club, Roxann Dillon, FC Pit Crew Band Boosters, Heritage Home Center, Thomas Haynes Construction and BHS Athletic Boosters past and present. |
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