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Cloverdale group hopes to shine a light
CLOVERDALE ---- The baseball field shared by the Cloverdale middle school and high school teams doesn't have any lights, but Nikki Selig and some other baseball fans are trying to change that.
Selig formed the Cloverdale Light the Field Committee with the goal of adding lights to the diamond.
"Last season I talked with a few parents, and they said that there were only four or five games for the middle school," Selig said. "They were the last ones on the list and they would get called because of darkness, so I went to the principal and asked for permission to start a group to get lights."
Selig's youngest son is 12 years old and will move to the larger field next year to play baseball.
Cloverdale head baseball coach Bryan Archer said safety was a more pressing concern.
"First and foremost it's for the players safety," Archer said. "When they're playing and it starts getting dark, we're trying to get as much playing time as we can, but players safety has to come first so we call the games short.
"We can't risk the players getting hurt from not being able to see the ball and that sort of thing," he said.
Archer said the junior varsity team often lost three or four innings because of darkness.
"It hinders our J.V. players from getting a full game in," Archer said.
Selig's husband Mike is a contractor who has agreed to help install the project once the necessary funds are raised, and to work with the lighting company. Despite her husband's job, Selig was caught off guard with the price tag involved.
"I had an idea of how much it was going to cost, but I was very wrong. I thought it would be $30,000 to $40,000," she said. "We could have had it done for that price, but we would have had to use wood posts and they would have required maintenance in a couple years. I want to do it once and do it right."
Selig said the set up her group is trying for would cost somewhere around $80,000. Archer said he was impressed with the setup the Seligs had chosen.
"The company they chose, I believe it's Lexco, that's top of the line stuff," Archer said. "I'm glad they chose that, because if we're going to do it, we're going to do it 100 percent and get the best quality. I believe North Putnam went through the same company and anyone that's been out to North Put at night when they have the lights on, they're great light. That's what we're going for, that quality."
Selig said her group's biggest challenge is waiting for word on whether or not they will receive 501(c) (3) status.
"That's what's holding us up right now. We have some companies lined up to donate, but without that non-profit status, they won't do anything," Selig said.
At the last meeting of the group, Committee member Rich Chambers agreed with that.
"Once you get that, I can start applying at Walmart," Chambers said.
Selig said getting enough volunteers is also an issue. The group currently has six members. Selig acknowledged that the time of year might also be an issue.
"I did ask some of the players parents last year and they were like 'yeah, I'd be willing to help.' Maybe once the season gets going, people will be more interested," she said.
Selig said the project needs more people in terms of the committee itself -- there are currently six members and getting that number up to 12 would help with the work load -- and in terms of installing the lights.
Getting to the point of installing lights is a few steps away, too.
Fundraising is another hurdle for a new group. Selig said the group is trying to come up with fundraising options that don't step on other groups' toes. One example of that is trying to plan a potential golf scramble so it doesn't line up with any other scrambles.
The group is currently planning a Zumbathon on April 23 as a fundraiser. They will also sell Cloverdale baseball hats at different sports events, and plans to sell Cloverdale Umbrellas and energy efficient light bulbs.
"I wanted to get this done for the spring of 2012, the next baseball season," Selig said. "I still think that's attainable, but I do have my doubts. It might be the next year.
"I just think that as long as I don't give up, I can't fail. If it takes five years, it takes five years, but that's not a failure."