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19 ELK RIVER PARKS & RECREATION <br />BASEBALL <br />OVERALL <br />Baseball participation in Elk River has been declining slightly. The association is <br />optimistic about their opportunities to begin growing again. For the purposes <br />of this study, maintaining of existing numbers is assumed. There are also other <br />teams such as the VFW and Legion teams in Elk River. <br />The desire for fall ball is also growing and this would require additional fi eld <br />time during historically unprogrammed seasons. Additional use would <br />challenge the quality of the fi elds by putting them to use when they are <br />typically resting. <br />SMALL FIELDS <br />The City of Elk River does have a number of fl ex fi elds that can accommodate <br />younger baseball players on 60’ fi elds, the city does not have fi elds designed <br />for younger players. There are no grass infi eld ballfi elds, and most of the <br />skinned infi eld fi elds are at 285-315 foot outfi elds. The perception among <br />baseball users is that there are not enough fi elds, but this may be in part due <br />to recent construction projects and maintenance issues taking fi elds offl ine in <br />the past few years. <br />MIDDLE FIELDS <br />Providing dedicated baseball fi elds with grass infi elds for the 12-13 year old <br />teams is a challenge for Elk River, but also many other communities. This is a <br />challenging age because the 52’ mound/75’ basepaths are only used for this <br />specifi c age group. While a number of the skinned fi elds can accommodate <br />this, the baseball use always feels secondary, especially when the fence <br />dimensions are longer than desired. <br />FULL SIZED FIELDS <br />The city is home to more full sized baseball fi elds than many neighboring <br />communities, but the main critique tends to be with Hales Field. Hales Field <br />is the home fi eld of the high school, VFW, and Legion teams and is in need <br />of upgrades. Hale’s is not owned or operated by the city, but the proximity to <br />OKAC leads some to believe it is a city fi eld. Newer lights and dugouts at the <br />90’ fi elds at YAC have been a welcome addition. <br />13200 <br />13300 <br />13400 <br />13500 <br />13600 <br />13700 <br />13800 <br />13900 <br />2013/2014 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017 2017/2018 2018/2019# of ParticipantsYears <br />MN BOYS BASEBALL <br />PARTICIPATION <br />Boys Participation Linear (Boys Participation) <br />475000 <br />477000 <br />479000 <br />481000 <br />483000 <br />485000 <br />487000 <br />489000 <br />491000 <br />493000 <br />495000 <br />2013/2014 2014/2015 2015/2016 2016/2017 2017/2018 2018/2019# of ParticipantsYears <br />NATIONAL BOYS BASEBALL <br />PARTICIPATION <br />Total Linear (Total) <br />STATE AND NATIONAL HIGH <br />SCHOOL PARTICIPATION RATES <br />ELK RIVER YOUTH ASSOCIATION <br />PARTICIPATION RATES <br />0 <br />100 <br />200 <br />300 <br />400 <br />500 <br />600 <br />700 <br />2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 <br />Baseball Participants <br />Reported Projected (by Assn) <br />0 <br />10 <br />20 <br />30 <br />40 <br />50 <br />60 <br />2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 <br />Baseball Teams <br />Reported Projected (by Assn)