A new ballpark in Hamilton will open this summer and it promises to be a game-changer for the sport in the region.

Mahoe Park – on the verge of Frankton industrial area and Melville – will officially open after Christmas and will serve as the home field of the Hamilton Raiders Baseball Club.

The facility will include a 90-foot and 60-foot diamond and will use a full artificial-surfaced in-field – the first of its kind in New Zealand.

Hamilton Raiders president Richard Tuhoro has been the driving force behind the initiative and is pleased to see so much hard work about to come to fruition.

“The idea came about three years ago – we knew that where we were currently playing was going to be temporary,” he said. “There were many challengers that interfered when playing the games, the field was not adequate or up to baseball standards. We had to look for somewhere else to make a good baseball facility, this could only have been done by working alongside Hamilton City Council.

“We can fit two 90-foot baseball fields in there easily but at the moment we are just doing one 90-foot diamond, one junior field and batting cages.

“It is fully irrigated with pop-up sprinklers.”

Not only will it give baseball a state-of-the-art home in the Waikato but Tuhoro hopes it will help entice Baseball New Zealand to take National Club Championships to the venue in the coming seasons.

“It is one of the goals that we are aiming for in the next year or two,” Tuhoro admitted.

“Once it is completed in the next three or four months it will be the first fully artificial turf adult baseball field in New Zealand.

“The changing room facilities, umpire/referee rooms and storage facility will be completed this time next year.

“Our hope is to hold a junior nationals in the shorter term and maybe a senior nationals further down the line.”

The hard-working Raiders club has done the majority of the work to turn the Mahoe Park concept from an idea to reality but Tuhoro paid tribute to some special people that have gone above and beyond.

“I had a lot of help from Glenn Campbell [Howick Pakuranga president and Baseball NZ Hall of Fame inductee] in the early stages, coming to council meetings. Our small committee has done a lot of work and my family is still in the background.

“We have a good core group of about 10 people working hard to get a great diamond sports facility here in the Waikato that is much needed.”

Meanwhile good numbers have started pre-season training in Hamilton. The club is planning on entering a Premier, Premier Reserves, U16 and U13 teams this season.

“We are thankful to all our foundation players, and we are excited to have many new players and as well as import players to experience our New Zealand culture,” Tuhoro said.

“Hamilton Raiders baseball would like to say a big thank you to the following people for getting in behind Baseball in this great Waikato region - HCC, Grassroots, GMS Recycling, T&G Engineering, B.W. Teaz Ltd & Kukri Sports.

“Thank You for supporting our great game of baseball.”

Article added: Thursday 19 September 2019