CORPUS CHRISTI, TX — Corpus Christi is known as a baseball community, so it is a surprise to know a ball park is in deteriorating condition. The fields at Evelyn Price Park (3800 Gollihar Rd) have seen better days, days that were once filled with kids playing ball.
Now, volunteers are hoping to repair the ball park and bring it back to life.
"It has a lot of history, it's nice to hear when we ask the volunteers that are here and they tell you that they played here when they were kids," Efrain Lara said, a volunteer and Director of Player Development for Marucci Elite Corpus Christi, a baseball and softball organization. This is the organization that currently maintains the fields, that are owned by the City. The Marucci Elite say they do not get anything from the City, and they pay a monthly fee to keep the fields in their care. The first renovation event took place Saturday, December 28, hoping one day these fields will be used for athletes again.
"Has to be more than 5 years," Lara said about the last time maintenance was done on the fields. "Ya know it's such a great area, it just needs some tender loving care."
From plumbing, electrical, fencing, dugout repairs, windows, doors, among many other things on the long to-do list.
"Really if you think of what the needs are at a ball park, we need it."
The goal is to have these fields 100% functional for teams and organizations to use for events and tournaments in the future.
"We know its gonna take time, it's gonna take a lot of effort. But we feel very strongly about what we're doing here and we want to get something done good for the kids here in the community," Lara said.
The next renovation event will take place January 4th at 9 a.m.