Derby baseball will get a much-needed facelift to Panther Field this season. The field will get a complete update with a new fence, leveled infield, rebuilt visitor dugout and a professionally reconstructed pitcher’s mound.
It is a joint project between the Derby Recreation Commission and USD 260. The project totaled $45,000. According to USD 260 Director of Operations Burke Jones, the district’s portion of the cost was covered by Panther Pac, the Derby High School athletic department and district funds.
The two primary overseers of the ballpark split the cost to fix the pitcher’s mound, re-sodding the infield, and added 100 tons of new red shale, which will be placed in the infield dirt and warning track.
Derby pitchers will be excited to use the updated pitcher’s mound that was entirely rebuilt with the aid of Wichita Wind Surge head groundskeeper Ben Hartman. Hartman was named the Texas League Groundskeeper of the Year award winner in 2022.
The visitor’s dugout was reconstructed and completed in the fall. Both bullpens will also be repaired before the spring season. Fans will also get a better view with a new backstop that will be switched from traditional chainlink to netting.
Infielders won’t be able to blame many errors on the playing surface as the crew worked to level the infield and fix lips caused by rain drainage. The crew did its usual overseeding of the rye and bermuda grass mixture on the infield grass, which will make the grass appear greener in the heart of the spring season with smoother play.
The fencing will have the same dimensions but will be replaced from wood with corrugated metal. Derby baseball head coach Todd Olmstead said the old wood planks were beyond the point of replacing, so they took the opportunity to install a more long-term investment with the metal fence.
“The project as a whole is huge, especially the fencing,” Olmstead said. “We put the wooden fence in 2001 and have just done maintenance work on it ever since. We have never fully replaced it. The wooden planks were so weathered that we could not attach them to the base any longer.”
The fence will be installed by in-house employees of the district, which helped cut the cost for all involved. Jones said the project was a major upgrade to the baseball field that is being completed in a very economical manner for all involved. Jeff Ohmes helped find the bid and will be saving $9,960 by installing all the updates in-house. Olmstead said Ohmas has been spearheading the project and his staff has done a fantastic job getting the field ready for the spring.
Derby baseball is excited to break in the updates to Panther Field. The Panthers are looking to return to their home stadium and make a run for another state tournament appearance.
“We are getting a lot of new things that have never been actually new, just temporarily replaced,” Olmstead said. “It will be really cool, and we are excited to play there.”
Cody Friesen is the sports editor for the Derby Informer. Contact him with sports tips at sports@derbyinformer.com, and follow @Derby_Sports on Twitter for the latest updates.
Commented