The Yukon government and Softball Yukon have signed a memorandum of understanding to revamp Whitehorse’s softball grounds on Range Road, driven by plans to relocate École Whitehorse Elementary School.
Softball Yukon announced to members in an email that commitments by the Yukon government included the construction of an additional field at the Pepsi Softball complex and upgrades to one of the three dusty diamonds opposite the complex to give it a grassy outfield.
Proposed changes to the softball grounds also included building a new four-diamond complex between the new school and Takhini Elementary. Additionally, the plan also included safety upgrades to the bleachers and fences at the Robert Service diamonds, approximately seven kilometres away from the Pepsi complex.
“We had a sit-down meeting with all the ministers involved and from there we had a chance to express our non-negotiables. These are the things that we need to happen to be able to continue running our organization at the same capacity.” Sarah Walz, softball Yukon's executive director said.
“We had a great opportunity to sit down and leave them with some documents and quite quickly, within a month, we had a draft memorandum of understanding come back to us. We spent a week going back and forth on a few things, but in the end, we were very happy to sign what was presented to us.”
Softball Yukon could not afford to lose two softball fields before constructing a new one while development takes place for the school’s relocation, Walz said. The proposed school site overlaps two of the three dirt diamonds at the junction of Range Road and University Drive.
Walz said losing two fields could have pushed competitive matches to the Robert Service diamonds, regarded as mostly unsuitable for tournaments due to rough surfaces and unsafe conditions. She added that the Yukon government pledged to install new fences and update the current bleachers as part of the memorandum of understanding signed by both parties.
She highlighted that the memorandum of understanding was designed to ensure that Softball Yukon could plan ahead for the regular season, which runs from May to August, for the organization’s approximate 2,000 members.
Softball Yukon will have priority access to the new fields during the organization's minor softball season, according to the announcement. This priority access could help maintain the organization’s minor softball programming and scheduling, despite losing their dedicated dusty diamonds.
“They're building this multipurpose field for the school, which would mirror what we already have on the 7up field. It would be a school field under the joint user agreement, like all the other outdoor school fields. But we would have priority access during our season, as it would act as our new minor softball field, although it wouldn't be entirely ours," Walz said
The revamp’s design will not have a direct impact on capacity but will help maintain Softball Yukon’s programming, Walz notes. She added that these changes could potentially see growth for the organization’s youth program.
The combination of field upgrades and improved access aligns with developing the sport at both competitive and grassroots levels in Whitehorse.
“We're really excited about the idea of all these big upgrades, and hopefully down the road, being able to host some big events again and really build our youth program," Walz said.
The relocation of École Whitehorse Elementary lacks a clear timeline for softball field upgrades and new constructions. Walz said the plan still requires city council approval and budgeting, so no firm dates have been established.
— With files from Dana Hatherly
Contact Jake Howarth at jake.howarth@yukon-news.com
