The John L. Harvey baseball stadium proposed for Western Nevada Community College. The field could be ready for play by July. The grandstands and other amenities are to come later.
Carson City residents living near a planned seven-acre baseball field for Western Nevada Community College's new team can have their questions answered today by the project's authorities - WNCC's vice president, its baseball coach and the construction project manager.
The 400-by-400-foot site is already under construction and the first phase, consisting of the field itself, is scheduled for completion early this summer.
The second phase, which includes indoor batting cages, a maintenance building, team room and offices, press box, restrooms, concession stands, stadium seating and an entrance plaza, will be built out over several years as more money becomes available.
Plans call for a length of 390 feet from home plate to center field, 290 feet down the right field line and 320 feet down the left field line. The field will feature "field turf," a life-like natural turf made with recycled rubber materials.
Carson City Parks and Recreation officials have suggested making the park a little larger, so it could accommodate a minor league baseball team some time in the future. Helaine Jesse, WNCC's vice president of institutional advancement, said that will never happen. The stadium, she said, will not be open to a minor league team.
Parks and Recreation Director Roger Moellendorf also recommended repositioning the field to point northeast or southeast, instead of the proposed southwest design.
"The current plan has the batter facing into the southwest, which means he will be looking into the sun when he is being pitched to," Moellendorf wrote in comments to the Carson City's community development department.
Letters explaining the proposed field and seeking comment were sent out to 62 residents, some of whom live in subdivisions as close as a few hundred feet from the field. Just one resident responded.
The stadium will be named the John L. Harvey Stadium. The Wingfield Nevada Group donated $800,000 toward the project in Harvey's name. The late Harvey was the great grandfather of the developing team's coach, D.J. Whittemore.
If you go
What:
Neighborhood meeting to discuss plans for John L. Harvey field
When: 11 a.m. today
Where: Marlette Hall, Western Nevada Community College, 2201 W. College Parkway
What: Carson City Planning Commission
When: 3:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Sierra Room, Carson City Community Center, 851 E. William St.
