Expanded dugouts and batting cages are just two of the improvements the Thunder Bay International Baseball Association will make to Port Arthur Stadium in preparation to host next summer’s World Junior Baseball Championship.
Thanks to $393,000 from the provincial government’s Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation and an additional $40,000 from the Ministry of Training, Colleges and University that will pay the salaries of workers doing the construction, both the stadium and the Baseball Central facility will be renovated to meet exacting international standards.
Other upgrades include improved lighting and new fencing around ball fields. A further $95,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation will be used to purchase equipment, organize a cultural festival surrounding the 10-day event and provide volunteer retraining and recruitment.
TBIBA president Larry Hebert said the money will go a long way in the staging of the tournament, which will feature teams from 12 countries and in the past has showcased future major league stars like Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer and shortstop J.J. Hardy, St. Louis starter and future hall of famer John Smoltz and Canadians Russell Martin, Ryan Dempster and Larry Walker.
But more importantly, he said, is the legacy the money will leave behind.
"We’re just making (Port Arthur Stadium and Baseball Central) for future tournaments that are held here, from little league or Baseball Ontario or the Border Cats. It’s going to be great for them in the future," Hebert said, adding some of the improvements were mandated by the International Baseball Federation, while others were decided upon by the organizing committee.
Chris Toneguzzi, a former reliever in the Milwaukee Brewers system and a member of Canada’s 2002 world junior team alongside Martin and future Cincinnati Reds slugger Joey Votto, said it’s a real eye-opener getting a behind-the-scenes look at the preparation leading up to the event, scheduled to start on July 23, 2010.
A closer with the Border Cats in 2004, when he set a then Northwoods League record for saves in a season, Toneguzzi said any improvements to either field are welcome ones.
"Not that the facilities were in dire need of it, but when you’re putting something on the world stage, you want to have top quality," Toneguzzi said. "The city of Thunder Bay and baseball in Thunder Bay is getting a great thing with all the money that they’re putting into it for the future of baseball in this town."
It’s a natural fit, said provincial Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry Michael Gravelle, who with his Thunder Bay-Atikokan counterpart Bill Mauro, made Friday’s announcement.
"We know this will make a big difference. It’s an exciting event and it’s going to attract a lot of people to Thunder Bay. We’re going to have top players at the junior baseball level and I just think this is an ideal example of how the Northern Heritage Fund can be helpful," Gravelle said.
The province earlier gave $200,000 to the project via the Ministry of Health Promotion.