Outdoor Little League Field Planned in Chesterfield

Blueprints are expected to materialize to an outdoor little league field on the grounds of an indoor baseball business this summer.

Spring Training, which has a 20,000-square-foot softball and baseball facility on Morelli Drive near Chesterfield Road, has site plans before the township Planning Commission to build a regulation little league field. The 225-foot field, slated for vacant land adjacent to the business' parking lot, would accommodate women, girls and boys under 12, said co-owner and lead instructor Jeff Damore of Macomb Township.

"They're so eager for me to put this up," Damore said of Chesterfield officials. "We're not just building a field, we're building a state-of-the-art facility."

The Planning Commission is expected to vote on the site plans Feb. 14 at Chesterfield Township Municipal Offices on Sugarbush. If approved, the field is expected to be used by June 1.

Fundraising for field

Potential space for the field is one of the main reason Spring Training relocated from a smaller indoor facility in the Hall and Groesbeck area in Clinton Township to Chesterfield Township about three years ago.

"This is why I was here," Damore said of the outdoor field project.

The company recently launched a fund-raising campaign for the $75,000 field in which local ballplayers try to sell field ads to local companies. The highest-selling player may even earn the honor of having the field named after him or her, he said.

"We have everything to build it," he said of finances. "We just want to furnish it really nice."

In addition, kids who secure ads for the field will be honored with engraved bricks that will be placed around it.

Indoor baseball business offers multiple services

The township location claims a 12,000-square-foot field, six batting cages, benches and WiFi access. Roughly 2,000 people utilize the facility each week.

It also serves as a venue for tournaments, zumba classes, birthday parties, special training sessions and place for hopeful college players to train. Oakland University, Central Michigan University and Eastern Michigan University have all used the facility to cater to local athletes. Meanwhile, Oakland A's scout Rick Sparks offers hitting lessons for older children and the Men's Adult Baseball League regularly plays there.

Damore and fellow co-owner Rob Stevenson, who serves as baseball director and runs the 16 Vengeance in-house teams at Spring Training, recently purchased another indoor baseball facility in Sterling Heights. That one on Metro Parkway and Mound is 8,000 square feet with batting cages.

Local residents love to play ball

During research for their business, Spring Training owners recognized the popularity of baseball in the area.

Damore said he believes that Chesterfield Township has one the largest, if not the largest, concentration of ballplayers in the state.

And, according to the Chesterfield Township Parks and Recreation Department, baseball is a big deal among residents.

A total of more than 1,000 boys and girls register each year for the two baseball seasons offered through the township department alone. The teams often play at and . Registration for the spring season, which runs early April to mid-May, begins Feb. 1.

For more information on Spring Training, visit www.spring-training.net and for more information on Chesterfield Township Parks and Recreation, visit http://chesterfieldtwp.org.