Dear Mueller Park Baseball Parents, Players, and Supporters,

We are writing to inform you of the board's decision to forego a Fall season this year. The purpose for this is three-fold. First, we need to update the fields and physical facilities, which will require several weeks of good weather when the fields are not in use. Second, we need time to raise funds to pay for the improvements, as well as work with the Bountiful City to secure their support. Third, we need to add two board members and fill several other positions to facilitate operations for next Spring. 

We understand that this will be disappointing to many in the community. Frankly, we feel the same way. But, we also believe that doing so will help us to make necessary updates that will improve the experience for players and families and ensure that the league can serve the community for many more years.

Below is additional information on these three focus areas and how we can work together to improve a program that we believe is critical to our community.

Physical Facilities Improvements

The Mueller Park fields have been a fantastic venue for the league, but over many seasons of continued use, they’re showing significant wear and tear. We’re planning several improvement projects, starting this fall and extending through the next couple of years, to bring the fields back into playing shape. 

Fields - we have quotes from Dura Edge, ranging from $39,000 to $80,000 per field, to redo the infields and eight feet into the outfield on each field. Dura Edge is a top rated field installer used by many little league parks, municipalities, and professional baseball organizations around the Western United States including the Salt Lake Bees. We are also seeking quotes to potentially install turf infields to reduce the amount of maintenance needed and add the ability to play immediately after storms. 

Fencing - Following the field renovations, we would like to install fencing on the Minor field to reduce foot traffic and damage.

Dugouts - There is graffiti in some dugouts that needs to be removed. We’d also like to install dugouts at Celebration field and improve the maintenance shed at that location.

Lights - We have quotes from Big Bear Electric to install lights on two of the fields and the City has plans to replace the transformer and fix the lights on the Babe Ruth Field in 2026. The funds needed for these improvements will be approximately $203,000 per field (depending on whether we use wood or steel poles). This will allow us significantly more playing time especially in the late fall and early spring and will provide more access for practices and games.

Fundraising

Based on the numbers above, we need approximately $629,000 to $700,000 to accomplish our goals. The fields receive significant use (1500 players used them each week during the 2023 Spring season) and have not seen any improvements in years. In our view, this is a reasonable cost for improvements that will extend the life and improve the playability of these fields. We will need to combine funds from private and public donors, and the City, to meet our goals. 

A number of you have already volunteered to assist with fundraising. If you are interested in helping with this large effort, which we believe will have a significant positive impact on our community, please email us. We will send out additional information regarding fundraising in the coming weeks.

Board Membership/Assistance

We are looking to fill at least two volunteer board positions. We are also planning to hire for several other paid and volunteer positions. Please watch for an email regarding these opportunities in the coming weeks. We would encourage anyone who is interested to apply.

We know this is a lot. Please feel free to contact us with any questions.

Best,

Mueller Park Baseball Board of Directors

AJ Green

Christie Peterson

Tom Reese