Things at Volcanoes Stadium are going to look a bit different next season.
Volcanoes Stadium will become the first full artificial turf field for baseball and multi-use in the mid-Willamette Valley.
In a press release, Mavericks League CEO Mickey Walker announced the project, which will begin in the fall.
“The future of Volcanoes Stadium is now,” Walker said in the release.
The $2.2 million project will be funded both privately and through the Community Sports Development Alliance.
The Alliance will fund approximately 70% of the renovation.
“This was a compelling project that we wanted to be involved with,” Alliance director Joe O’Conner said. “The stadium has had a long rich history of providing family friendly affordable entertainment. The artificial surface will ensure its future and open the facility for many multiple uses and various sports such as soccer, football, lacrosse, cricket, disc golf, etc. – virtually opening the stadium for year-round use.”
Volcanoes Stadium was built in 1997, and the turf project is one of the largest renovations it has undergone.
Walker is excited for the possibilities the new field will provide.
“Not just sports, but numerous other uses,” Walker said.
The announcement comes at a time when the prospect of turf fields in Keizer is up in the air. The Lava Dome, an indoor, multi-field facility housed within an inflatable dome, announced last week that it was no longer looking at Keizer as a prospective location. There had been talk of putting it at the little league fields.
Closer turf fields are a necessity for nearly every school in the area. Last season McNary had multiple baseball and softball games moved out of the Keizer/ Salem area and up to a campus that had turf fields.