New Ulm Sports Central - Preserving and Sharing New Ulm Area Sports History

Caption: General Manager Kevin Subart, left, joined committee member Doug Radloff on the field recently.

River Region supports Essig Ball Park with donation for lights

The picture above and the following article are provided by River Region as Essig moves forward in developing another regular sized baseball park in the immediate New Ulm area. Mueller Park, Hanska and Essig are now all within a 10-minute drive of granddaddy Johnson Park. A state tournament in New Ulm thus has virtually unmatched facilities and could add several others beyond the area of these additions. These do not include the three smaller youth-size parks at North German Park in New Ulm.

The Essig Baseball Club’s Lighting Committee had already raised 80 percent of the funds needed to install lights at the park when it approached River Region, asking if the co-op would lend a hand. That impressed General Manager Kevin Subart and the RRC board.

“That was impressive,” Subart said. They had raised 80 percent of the $120,000 cost but needed 90 percent to move forward. We decided to give them 10 percent so they could go ahead. The Essig ball park has hundreds of kids playing softball and baseball there from spring to fall.”

The board approved a $10,000 donation, with another $2,600 coming from the Land O’Lakes Foundation matching funds account.

Subart continued, “We felt it was a good use of funds for the community. Good athletic facilities are a plus for kids; it gives them positive things to do.”

According to Essig Baseball Club vice president and Lighting Committee member Doug Radloff, the Essig Ball Park hosts nearly 100 games a year. Essig fields five summer baseball and four softball teams for all ages—seven years to adult. Four high school baseball squads—Sleepy Eye Public, Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s, New Ulm Public, and New Ulm Cathedral—also use the field. The ballpark has also been a host field for the Upper Midwest and Junior Upper Midwest Classic Legion Tournaments.

Having lights will allow for night games and more playing time for tournaments.

“We have pretty good quality baseball here, with a lot of scouts watching the players here,” Radloff said. “Casey Killebrew, Harmon’s grandson, even hit a home run on the field.”

Since the co-op made its donation, the cost of the project has increased to $139,000 as the committee opted to go with metal—rather than wood poles—for maintenance and insurance reasons, but that hasn’t daunted the committee.

“We want to do things right, not cut corners,” Radloff stressed. “We’ve had three or four other big donations, but a lot of the money has come from Essig alumni, people in the neighborhood, and a raffle last year that raised $17,000. We’re working hard to raise the last $25,000 we need and will do another raffle.”

The Essig Baseball Club is working with the Milford Town Board. Both groups are happy that the lighting project will soon be a reality.

“We’ve been working on the project since 1998 when it was first brought up,” Radloff acknowledged. “We’ve got everything locked in. They plan to put the poles in yet this fall so the lights will be up and running next spring.”

Speaking on behalf of the co-op, Subart noted, “We’re happy to contribute to the baseball lights and will consider working with other projects within the community. We’ll always consider contributing to any project, now or in the future, that benefits the community managed by organizations that are proactive and have gotten a good start on their own.”