Site preparation for the future Majestic Park Baseball Complex began Tuesday at the former site of the Boys & Girls Club of Hot Springs.
The Hot Springs Advertising and Promotion Commission received a $500,000 grant from the Oaklawn Foundation on Dec. 28, 2018, to complete demolition and site preparation, which is the first phase of the baseball complex project, according to Steve Arrison, CEO of Visit Hot Springs.
Ervan Slaight Demolition and Excavation began the site work Tuesday.
"When this phase is completed, we're then going to bring in an engineering firm," Arrison said, adding the site has long struggled with drainage issues.
"The site preparation has been fully funded by the Oaklawn Foundation, something we can't thank them enough for," he said.
The ad commission voted April 30, 2018, to accept the donation of the Boys & Girls Club property at 109 W. Belding, which was worth an estimated $222,550 to $581,598. The donation included multiple baseball fields of various sizes, restroom facilities, a concessions building, green spaces and off-street parking.
The former club building was donated to Champion Christian College.
In December, former chairman of the Oaklawn Foundation, Dennis Smith, said when the project came to the foundation's attention, the members thought it was a perfect fit for the mission of the Oaklawn Foundation because of the impact the project will have on the community.
Arrison said in December that the ad commission wants "to put back baseball fields since there's no youth baseball fields in the city of Hot Springs."
"While this is going to fund this portion, we're still trying to figure out how to pay for the rest of the project," he said on Tuesday.
Local on 01/16/2019