Herts Baseball Club has been awarded a £5,000 grant from the Dacorum Olympic and Paralympic Fund, administered jointly by Dacorum Borough Council and the Dacorum Sports Network.
A select number of organisations have received awards from the Olympic Fund for capital projects that will enhance sport services and facilities for people in Dacorum. The goal is to foster greater involvement in sport, culture and volunteering. Herts Baseball Club – based at Grovehill Playing Fields in Hemel Hempstead – is widely regarded as a positive influence in the local area and their grant application boasted support from local Council members, the Herts Constabulary, the Grovehill Community Centre and many other encouraging organisations.
The funds will be used by Herts Baseball to level the playing surface of a second baseball field, adjacent to their existing diamond in Grovehill. The Club has made a name for itself in recent years, enjoying rapid expansion to become the largest baseball franchise in the United Kingdom. They have a thriving youth Little League programme and an adult team at every level of play in the British Baseball Federation – including the Herts Falcons who joined the venerated National Baseball League in 2009, have secured a winning debut season and will appear in the National Baseball Championships in Croydon, London on August 29-30 to compete for the UK trophy.
Herts Baseball is still awaiting news on another critical grant application which will provide for the clay surfaces, pitching mound and other sport-specific features on Diamond Two, but they've already raised enough funds to assure themselves a level field to play on. The Grovehill baseball facilities are arguably the best in the United Kingdom, and Herts will be the only Club in the nation to boast two professionally-surfaced, adult sized and completely fenced-in baseball fields.
Club President Aspi Dimitrov said, “We are incredibly grateful to Dacorum Borough Council for their continued partnership and support. It would be impossible to offer our services – family-friendly baseball for kids and adults, alike – without the Council's backing. We plan on being a key community presence in Grovehill for many years to come.”