BELLEFONTE — When Gene “Buddy” Johnson was elected mayor of Bellefonte Borough, he had quite a long “to do” list. One of the items on that list was major improvements and renovations to the John Montgomery Ward Baseball Field at Governors Park.
By the time April 11 rolls around, Johnson can scratch that one off his list.
Thanks in part to a $1.1 million grant, the field is getting some much-needed upgrades and improvements.
“It all started with a flagpole,” Johnson joked. “I had reached out to the VFW and the Bellefonte American Legion. Each donated $500 and we ordered a flagpole. We started talking and I said, ‘I wish we could do something more than just a flagpole.’”
Johnson approached former Pennsylvania Sen. Jake Corman to talk about potential upgrades.
“I went to him in a mayoral capacity and I asked if there was anything he could do for the borough for the Governors Park field, which was pretty dilapidated and falling down,” said Johnson. “He said, ‘Let me see what I can do.’ We were fortunate enough to be able to get a nice grant and be able to start to put this whole dream together.”
The Bellefonte Area High School baseball team lost its field at the high school when Rogers Stadium was renovated and expanded. The Red Raiders were forced to play at the Governors Park field, which had seen better days.
When the Red Raiders’ home slate begins on April 11, fans may not recognize the field. There is a state-of-the-art turf infield, a drainage system, signage throughout, two new dugouts, stadium-style seats, bleacher seats and a sparkling new press box.
“We came up with what we could do within the parameters of the grant. Everything just sort of fit,” Johnson said.
One of the gems of the improvements will be seating. According to Johnson, there will be two rows of 10 stadium-style seats on each side of the field — a total of 40 seats. There will also be 30 feet of metal bleachers directly behind home plate.
“You’re going to have plenty of viewing. And you’ll still have your option to go out to right field or out on the hill to watch the game, if you want,” Johnson said.
John Nastase Construction secured the winning bid for work at the field and guaranteed that the work would be complete by April 1.
“By the grace of God and good weather, they’re going to meet the deadline,” Johnson said.
Corman, a Bellefonte resident himself, has a love for the sport of baseball.
“When they decided to move the baseball team over here, it was clear that it was going to be a long time before they could build them a real field,” Corman said. “This was doable, but it wasn’t very nice. I called the superintendent (Tammie Burnaford) and said, ‘I’m going to solve your problem and it’s not going to cost you a cent.’”
Because the baseball field is owned by the borough, Corman knew that a grant — and subsequent improvements — was possible.
“I represented Huntingdon Borough and their field was in major disrepair. They had to go to Juniata College to play. We were able to get them some money so they could fix up their field,” Corman said.
