Dunwoody Senior Baseball opens league play at other fields as work continues on new fields

Dunwoody Senior Baseball’s Middle School League opened its 2018 season on Tuesday, Feb. 20, but not at their new fields at Brook Run Park.

New designs for the fields as well as construction delays due to snow and heavy rain slowed the completion of the new baseball fields located between Brook Run Park and Peachtree Charter Middle School on North Peachtree Road. Original plans were to have the fields done by this month in time for the middle school league.

Dunwoody Senior Baseball had a backup plan in place should the fields not be completed in time for opening day and games were played Tuesday night at fields including Morgan Falls fields in Sandy Springs, Kewick Park in Chamblee and at Chastain Park in Buckhead.

Last week, DSB Jerry Weiner acknowledged he and others with DSB were disappointed they were not able to hold opening day at the new baseball fields, but said the teams are looking to forward to playing on them when they are ready.

“We know we are going to be there for a very, very long time,” Weiner said.

The new east field, the one closest to North Peachtree Road, is expected to be finished by March 6. The west field is slated to be completed by April 6 and the entire sports complex is supposed to be finished by May 6, according to city officials at the City Council’s Feb. 15 retreat.

Cost for the two new baseball fields total about $6.2 million, City Manager Eric Linton told council members at the retreat. The original costs for the field came in at $4.3 million before the council agreed artificial turf should be installed, adding more than $1 million to the price tag. The council eventually agreed to spend up to $5.7 million.

The new fields are being built on property once belonging to Peachtree Charter Middle School. They are replacing the fields in Dunwoody Park used by Dunwoody Senior Baseball for more than 40 years that were sold as part of a land swap to the DeKalb County Board of Education for the construction of a new Austin Elementary School. The new school is now under construction and slated to open in the fall of 2019.

Parks and Recreation Director Brent Walker said earlier this year the ballfields had to be redesigned and shifted several times to fit into the 8-acre space to cut down on costs after a bid came in at more than $7 million and was rejected by the council. The new fields will include more parking, a plaza area between the two fields and a concession stand.

Neighbors in the area have complained about some 300 trees along North Peachtree Road being chopped down to make room for the new fields. Without the trees, they say they have no noise or light filters and are concerned about the noise coming from games that can be played until 10 p.m.

The city will also be conducting a light test for residents living in the area in the near future. Georgia Power is in the process of setting and energizing the transformers this week, according to city spokesperson Bob Mullen. After that is completed, Georgia Power will pull the wire to the light poles and once that is complete, and passes inspection, the city will energize and test the lights, he said. All of the work is weather permitting.