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605 Sports
Emery baseball field receives upgrades after years of fundraising
The Emery field recently received upgrades to its field, including new dugouts.
(Ryan Deal / 605 Sports)
Jun 12, 2025
 

By Ryan Deal

605 Sports

EMERY — Years of fundraising and community involvement are benefitting the Emery baseball field. 

Last August, Emery baseball organizers began work on upgrading its field and renovations have been completed this spring. The upgrades to the field include new dugouts, backstop, LED lights and a new netting, replacing the chainlink fence around the field. 

The renovations were made possible after 12 years of fundraising, and Dimock-Emery Raptors manager Brad Bartscher said hopefully more upgrades are in the works. 

“It’s very nice to have a good start on it,” Bartscher said. “We are not done by any means. Things are getting more expensive nowadays, too. So you can’t wait forever. It took us 12 years to get funds put together, and a little at a time each year, and to be able to get a good chunk of it done at one time was really nice.”

The money was raised through fundraisers, like street dances, gun raffles and small grants. Bartscher said the dugouts, backstop and netting cost around $100,000, while the lights cost $50,000.

“You make a little bit of money on each thing and gradually put the money together and we were able to get a good start and get a good chunk of our remodeling project done with that,” Bartscher said. “It was just a little at a time.”

The new tin dugouts have wooden benches and Bartscher noted they’re roomier than the previous ones.

The Emery field recently received upgrades to its field, including new dugouts. (Ryan Deal / 605 Sports)
  

“The home dugout is triple the size of the old dugout, and it’s like a luxury being in that dugout after so many years in the old one,” Bartscher said. 

The park was in dire need of upgrades, especially after a thunderstorm ripped through Emery in 2022 and caused damages to the field.

Three years later, the renovations have come to fruition. 

“It was pretty much a done deal after that,” Bartscher said. “We probably pushed it a year or two too long, but we knew we definitely had to get something done. We really pushed hard to get a good start on it this year.”

In the future, Bartscher hopes to upgrade the field and concession stand, pave the parking lot, and put up a perimeter fence around the park. 

“That’s another thing we can dress our park up a little more with that, too,” Bartscher said. “Those are all wishful thinking right now and hopefully we can make it actually happen and one thing at a time when we get those projects because they are pretty good sized projects.”

Bartscher also credited the Emery community and area baseball organizers for assisting with the projects — now and into the future. 

“We can’t stop where we are at right now and let things fall apart,” Bartscher said. “As long as we can keep moving forward with it and keep raising money a little at a time, eventually we will get there.”