from Wisconsin’s Peter DiGaudio:

I am involved with historic Simmons Field in Kenosha, both as secretary of the stadium board and as field manager of the American Legion baseball team, which plays its home games there. A little background: Simmons Field was the home of the Class A franchise of the Minnesota Twins from 1984 through 1992. Before that, it was the home of the Kenosha Comets of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League of A League Of Their Own fame. In 2006, the city leased the stadium to Kenosha Unified who in turned leased it to the American Legion but without much financial support. We survive on field rental and concessions for revenue. It’s OK to pay normal operating expenses but we are unable to deal with issues such as upgrades, renovations and major repairs.

The historic venue is in danger of shutting down in a year or two due to lack of resources for upgrades, renovations and major repairs. A partial list of the items needed are:

  • New net for the backstop (existing is from the early 1980s)
  • New scoreboard (Twins era broke down and was removed, existing one of an obsolete model donated by UW-Parkside)
  • Re-construction of the dugouts (removed by the city in over 10 years ago)
  • New P.A. system (existing one is from the early 1980s, plus several speakers have been removed over the years)
  • In-ground sprinkling system (as of now, we have to water by hand and cannot water the entire field)
  • Repair and upgrade of the locker rooms

That’s a partial list, plus the lights need upgrade and repair, we have 30 year old electrical and plumbing systems to deal with.

If we are forced to close, not only will we lose the last remaining stadium from the AAGPBL still remaining in its original configuration, baseball in Kenosha will be shut down above 14U other than house league (recreational, noncompetitive). That will have a devastating impact on the high school programs.

http://simmonsfieldkenosha.com/

IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE INFO ON SIMMONS FIELD CHECK OUT THE FACEBOOK FAN PAGE: