The TMB softball team will soon be breaking in a ‘new’ field, but it wouldn’t have been possible without a lot of work and community backing
WHEN HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL CAME ON THE SCENE IN TRACY in 2001, the fledgling team already had a built-in field on which to play.
But it was hardly ideal. It was more like a 17-year-old’s first car: It was good to have, but certainly nothing fancy.
That’s because the twin fields — introduced to town in the 1970s and part of what is now known as the City Softball Complex — were designed mostly for “beer league” softball, and served its purpose in a big way when adult summer softball leagues prospered and Tracy hosted massive softball tournaments during Box Car Days.
But no one associated with the TMB softball program over the last 25 years would argue that upgrades have long been needed.
And those upgrades are here in a big way.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to coach baseball at places like Legion Field in Marshall, Luverne; Milroy has a nice field, obviously Irish Yard is nice — those are just really cool atmospheres that our boys play baseball on; I just felt it was time to do something for these girls to give them something similar,” TMB head softball coach Karl Campbell said. “We play on some nice fields for softball, and we play on some pretty bad ones.”
Tracy is surrounded by a number of softball fields that inspire envy with Campbell, most notably, those in Pipestone, Lakeview and Murray County Central, the latter of which Campbell has studied to help define what needed to be done in Tracy.
‘ The driving force for me was, ‘Let’s get our facilities to be something we’re proud of and the girls want to be a part of, not just make do.’
— TMB SOFTBALL COACH KARL CAMPBELL “The driving force to me was, ‘Let’s get our facilities to be something we’re proud of and the girls want to be a part of, not just make do,’” TMB head softball coach Karl Campbell said.
ONE OF THE NEW FEATURES OF THE TRACY CITY SOFTBALL COMPLEX are the dugouts — real dugouts that the north field has never had before. Another one is the new regulation backstop (shown below). Photos / Per Peterson
When the Panthers have their home opener on April 10 against Lakeview, they will be playing at the complex, but not on an antiquated ball field that is literally not fit for high school softball. Instead, they will be playing on a new-to-them field — the north field — that is now surrounded by new fencing and has genuine dugin dugouts, two bullpens and a new backstop that is actually regulation distance from home plate. The backstop fence has a narrow board affixed to the bottom of it, which has always caused strange and unpredictable bounces when a pitch gets by the catcher.
Campbell knows the impact that backstop can have on a game and said he actually coaches differently for home games because there is so little room between home plate and the old backstop.
“We’ve got backstop padding coming as well,” said Campbell. “It’s 2 foot high with a Panther logo on it.”
On top of all this, new Agrilime has been brought in to cover what once was a surface that more resembled nearhardened concrete — except around home plate where a comparison to quicksand would be appropriate — than a softball surface.
Of course, all of the improvements takes money, and fundraising has been the ultimate team effort — literally. For the past few years, TMB players have pounded the pavement soliciting money from Tracy and area businesses and organizations. The first fundraiser was a bowling event where businesses could sponsor a lane. That sparked bigger and better things, but ultimately, the program got out of it what the girls put into it.
“We realized that we could make some pretty substantial gains in just going out and getting sponsors — and we can use those funds for summer ball, equipment and field improvements,” Campbell said. “It’s a team effort.”
Over the past two or three years, the fundraising has evolved in a big way and includes other towns like Currie and Balaton. The dugouts on the south field each have a banner hung on them to recognize the dozens upon dozens of groups and businesses that have given to the program.
Besides all the fundraising, the newlook complex is a result of a partnership between the school district, City and the Panther Booster Club.
“It takes a tremendous amount of money to do what we’re doing,” said Campbell. “At last count, I think we were over $100,000 that we’ve put into the complex.”
Additions the last couple of years also include the large viewing deck on the east side of the concession stand/crow’s nest and a batting cage.
The City of Tracy, which owns the property on which the fields sit, also dug in tile to help with drainage. And speaking of drainage, the north field doesn’t hold water like the south field does.
“The north field normally dries a little bit faster,” Campbell said. “The slope has been a little bit better; as we brought the agrilime in and set the bases, I worked hard on the elevations to get that slope right to help with those heavy rains that we get once in awhile.”
Campbell added that the condition of the south field — which is where the varsity has always played its games — is not lost on him, but for now, it’s “one thing at a time,” he said.
Another part of the complex’s transformation will likely include new lights. Recent strong winds did some damage to the current lights, so that is a safety issue, as much as it is about simply lighting the complex.
“If we can get that done this summer, that’s going to be just one more thing that adds to this project,” said Campbell.
The District No. 2094 School Board finance committee has approved the lights and the the board completed the first reading of the lights; and the final reading to approve the lights is on April 21. While it’s not a done deal, TAPS Supt. Chad Anderson has expressed condfidence that the final reading will pass, and that new lights will be installed at the softball field next year.
Campbell said another phase of fundraising will begin soon. His wish list includes a new scoreboard.
“There’s more to do,” he said. “It’s kind of like owning a house — it’s never done. People also want to see some improvements on some of our other fields, like the ones at the swimming pool and the junior high baseball field. Some of those wheels are in motion for some of that. But it all takes money, time and labor. I do feel good about the direction we’re going overall.”
