MONONGALIA COUNTY, W.Va. – Upgrades to the baseball and softball complex at Mylan Park can finally move forward.
The change to artificial turf fields comes after nine months worth of discussions and the support of a $3.5 million grant for the West Virginia Development Authority. Mylan Park Foundation President Ron Justice says the funds will support upgrades that will allow the multi-field complex to host tournaments and events regardless of weather conditions.
“A lot of hotels were booked in the county, and because of the weather, they had to be cancelled,” Justice said of the benefits of the upgrades. “So, this will enable us to pull those events off without any weather issues.”
Grant funding will also support renovations to other athletic fields at Mylan Park. This includes a returf of the multi-purpose field located at the lower portion of the baseball and softball complex and the addition of a grass soccer field, making seven field upgrades in total. Justice said that other grants are being explored for additional upgrades that would put the multi-sport complex in a position to bid for statewide events (i.e., state high school championship tournaments).
“This will put us on par with the facility in Wheeling, the facility in Bridgeport, and certainly in Charleston,” Justice said. “So, it gives us a great opportunity here to be able to attract people to the state of West Virginia.”
The ability to host tournaments and events regardless of weather conditions is expected to play a major role in Mylan Park’s chances to host state events. Once the transfer to the artificial turf field is complete, there will be seven fields in total with artificial turf that will have improved drainage that will prevent rainouts that have taken place in the past.
“A lot of the games on natural grass sometimes are rained out, and this will give them the opportunity to get their full schedule in,” Justice said.
The $3.5 million in state grant funding to upgrade to turf fields adds to several other upgrades that have taken place at Mylan Park that will continue into the future. Over the past ten years, Mylan Park has seen the development of the state-of-the-art aquatics and track center, the Mon County Center, and the Hazel & J.W. Ruby Community Center, with plans to expand camping and event opportunities in the near future. This is separate from the over $7 million in water and sewer upgrades that will help improve capacity at the complex to host more events.
“Over $73 million worth of new investment in the park over that period of time, and about $28 million now with this grant over the past three years,” Justice said. “So, there has been a lot of work, and it’s a top-notch facility Morgantown can be proud of.”
Mylan Park will continue to push for more state events as they prepare to host the 2023 State Pickleball Championship. The new event added to Mylan Park will take place this fall at the Hazel & J.W. Ruby Community Center, with over 120 players from across the Mountain State registered to attend.
“The state pickleball tournament, which is a new addition this year, is going to be exciting in November,” Justice said.