Amite – The municipality of St. Helena will open its first baseball fields and give the local children a place where they can not only play, but can dream large.
For more than a decade, the community has worked to develop the 5th station Recreation Facility, a 40 hectare area in front of La 16 in Amite.
“We are making progress, it may not be as fast as some people would like to see, but we are making progress,” said Executive Director of Economic Development Virginia Bell on Friday.
This facility already has a playground, a basketball court, a multi-purpose center and a soon open splash pad. However, the greatest progress to get to the area is the upcoming quad baseball complex.
“The main focus of these 40 hectares is these four fields with the concessions in the middle,” said Bell.
There is not a single designated place for children in the community to play baseball. Even local schools do not have their own fields.
“We had to have something, because at the moment they are in the backyards, they should be places that they shouldn't be,” said Bell.
This would open up the area until tournaments and bring additional income to the underfunded community.
“There are so few places we have here, we have no hotels, no motels, no restaurants, nothing that generates tax money for us, so we were curious that this could also help for this goal,” said Bell.
Before the municipality breaks the foundation for the fields in the fields, the officers are working on receiving the rest of the financing from the state and other resources.
“We have a good chance, in my heart we have a good chance to get these means of baseball for tomorrow,” said Bell.
Construction in the fields is expected to begin in 2026.