This dream has grown too big.
The Dream Field, an envisioned state-of-the-art baseball diamond on Tweedsmuir Avenue in Chatham, has seen its budget balloon from about $750,000 to $4 million in two short years.
According to the board of directors of the Chatham Sports Hall of Fame, the sheer scale of the project is too rich for their blood.
The hall had partnered with the Chatham Minor Baseball Association and the municipality to champion the concept. But hall officials said the scope has grown beyond its resource and volunteer capabilities.
“The scale of administration, accounting, and fundraising required for a project of this size now exceeds the capacity of a volunteer-run Hall of Fame,” the board stated in a press release.
The decision follows two years of collaboration and early project development
Hall officials added they think the best way to move forward is for the establishment of a “new, dedicated organization with its own charitable status to guide the project through the approval process, lead the fundraising campaign, and oversee construction. This will give the Dream Field the focused leadership it requires while allowing CSHOF to return our resources to our core mission of celebrating and preserving Chatham-Kent’s sports heritage.”
The hall still supports the Dream Field initiative.
“The Dream Field remains a vision we fully support,” said Tom Baker, chair of the sports hall’s board. “Our decision is about capacity and mandate, not belief in the project. We feel the most effective next step is for a dedicated organization to take the lead and carry the Dream Field through to completion.”
Baker and the board said the hall will work with the project’s steering committee during a transition period to ensure continuity in charitable receipting, and the board remains open to making a financial contribution in the future should the campaign align with its objectives at that time.
By stepping back from direct project administration, the Hall of Fame will free up volunteer resources to focus on initiatives that directly serve its mission of honouring and preserving the community’s sports heritage.
