Sports

Libertyville Little League Starts Field Improvements

Libertyville Little League held a groundbreaking ceremony at Butler Lake on Saturday.

After six years of saving money to improve the AAA Field at Butler Lake, Libertyville Little League held a groundbreaking ceremony Saturday to mark the start of improvements that are scheduled for completion before summer.

“We have opening day April 21, gosh, I hope it’s done by then,” said Bill Bennett, president Libertyville Little League.

The league has about 700 players and the AAA Field is one of six league fields at Butler Lake.

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Libertyville Little League is leasing the field from the Village of Libertyville and will be paying between $70,000 and $75,000 for field improvements that they hope will improve the field experience for players and spectators.

The improvements include adding a sunken dugout, which will open up more prime seating and offer better views.

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Fences will be moved to create a larger area behind the home plate so the field can accommodate older children. In the past, the league used the field for 10-year-olds in the program.

Bennett says the league is also working with the village to get permits for an elevated press box behind the home plate so they could have public announcement systems.

“The kids always love having their name announced, so I think that will be really exciting to have,” Bennett said.

The other reason for the field updates is to improve the flexibility of the field.

“We are really short of field space generally in the village for all sorts of athletic programs,” Bennett said. “We hope the updates will improve the amount of games we could have on different fields and provide us with more flexibility.”


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