Hanover Park sports complex needs renovation volunteers

Hanover Park Little Leaguers and Hurricanes football teams could see new dugouts and fencing at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District sports complex by the end of 2015 if the leagues round up enough volunteers to help with the projects.

Without the help of volunteers, village officials say, a contractor would need to be hired and only the fences would be replaced this year.

"With the volunteers, the cost savings go toward completing more projects," village Clerk Eira Corral said. "Without volunteers, we'll have to pay the going rate to have the work done."

It's unclear exactly how much money would be saved with the help of volunteers.

Village Manager Juliana Maller says the village wants to focus on bringing the appearance of the sports complex up to date.

"A lot of the fencing is worn. Some of it's installed upside down," she said.

Dugouts currently on the baseball and softball fields are wooden enclosures some village officials say are falling down. The new dugouts, according to village plans, would include a concrete slab on the dugout's ground. Several of the dugouts at the fields now present flooding issues where the sand has formed trenches over the years.

Sides of the dugouts would also be made of concrete, which would protect teams from the wind and distractions outside of the game.

"Enclosed dugouts isolate kids from parents, which is always an issue," Trustee Rick Roberts said. "If you can isolate the parents to the bleachers and not have them crawling around behind you, that's always a good thing."

But will there be enough volunteers to get the ball rolling on the projects this year?

"We have a strong following, and we do have a lot of people who would go out and help," said Hanover Park Little League President Dan Morgan. "Whether or not there's enough, well, there's never enough."

Morgan says many families have played sports at the complex for several generations and are proud of the fields and the programs. Improvements to the fields, he says, will give residents and the village more to be proud of.

"Just the pride in the program is what helps keep it going," he said. "And this is a great opportunity for us to grow and make the fields better."

According to the village plans, fences would cost $180,000 without paying a contractor to do the work, and the concrete dugouts $144,000.

The village uses revenue from video gambling terminals to fund projects for the complex.