UNITY – The 60-year-old Cardinal baseball diamond will officially retire after the 2024 ball season. With many highlights, close games, wins and losses, the diamond will be dismantled.
The diamond has seen its fair share of patch work and rough spots, which has become more and more difficult and expensive to repair. There have been discussions on renovating the diamond over the past few years, but nothing ever came to fruition due to the cost of the project.
An opportunity arose with some help from the North West Terminal Ltd. The company offered to plant crops on some of the farmland north of the facility, with the sale of the grain to help fund the cost of the renovation of the diamond over the next three years. This offer saw a project committee form quickly with Cory Wildeman stepping in as president, Dan Feser as vice president, Regan L’Heureux as secretary, Nathan Kuhn as farm advisor, Lisa Feser with the Town of Unity and Brad Sloboda as the growth years liaison.
The committee decided early on that if the project was going to be done, it had to be done right. The plans of renovations quickly turned into a complete rebuild. The committee wanted to see the end result to be “a facility that personifies our incredible history and brilliant future,” said Dan Feser in a statement to SASKTODAY.ca.
With Unity’s multiple ball diamonds having a great reputation provincially and nationally, the proposed venue could be capable of hosting national events while providing an experience both spectators and players can all enjoy.
The project will be divided into three phases. Phase one will start shortly after the last senior provincials are recorded. The old diamond will be dismantled, and the new diamond will be rotated. This will include new fencing, right field "monster", grass to both infield and outfield, dugouts and sprinkler system. Home plate will be situated near the gate located near KC Rescue and the beloved Wilson Hill will go unscathed. The committee’s goal is to have the new diamond ready for the 2025 season.
Phase two will see the installation of bleachers, washrooms and a shelter for spectators. Stadium lighting will be included in Phase three. Bar Engineering will be overseeing the entirety of the project, with a completion goal set for 2027.
While the cost of the project was not disclosed to SASKTODAY.ca, Feser did say support has been overwhelming from both sponsors and donors.
“The committee has been thrilled and further encouraged with the response from the community and rural municipalities,” he added.
“Once the diamond is complete, Unity is eligible to host large events such as Western and Canadian championships and college summer league games. The community has passed over such events as we just didn’t have the facility to host,” explained Feser.
