(Pemberton) - After four long years, Pemberton baseball players will see bleachers added to the Ball Park at Signal Hill for the 2010 season.
 
An agreement has been reached between District 48 School Board & the Squamish Lillooet Regional District, in principle, regarding the proposed bleacher additions submitted by the Sea to Sky Baseball executive committee - and plans are now being made to finalize the project by the end of April 2010. 

While the building permit still needs to be approved, league President John Burleson is optimistic that the project is finally in the home stretch.

" The executive is working to present the requested building package that contains everything needed in order to expedite the process. Players and coaches will be able to begin practises around the third week of April so we hope to have the project greenlighted prior to that," said Burleson.

" This undertaking has been four years in the making,"said Burleson. "Without the continued support of our local baseball community, Judith MacKenzie, chairperson of Pemberton/Area C Recreation Advisory Committee, and Anne West, who really kept the dream alive during a critical time we may not be here now on the verge of seeing this project completed for the kids."

The submitted plans call for bleacher additions to be added behind the backstop and sections down each fence line. All the labor is being donated by league volunteers. Materials, such as the cedar wood, have been donated by local logging companies and milled by Continental Log Homes.

The project is being coordinated by Will Van Spronsen, a project supervisor by trade, and assisted by Dennis Powell, Ron Fogarty, and Dan McGuire. All are strong supporters of youth baseball and are involved in the construction trades in the Sea to Sky corridor.

Burleson says the bleacher additions will be a benefit for the community as a whole.

" Having bleachers at the ball park will allow not only youth baseball to have a proper field in which to conduct its sporting events but also allow the local schools or user groups to benefit from having a place for the community as a whole to enjoy."