By Chris Basinger, Staff Writer
IRONDALE, Ala.–The City of Irondale held a formal groundbreaking for the new baseball and softball fields at Ruffner Park Wednesday morning.
Elected officials, construction contractors, public works crews, and local families attended the event, which signaled a new era for local athletics in Irondale.
“This groundbreaking ceremony marks the beginning of a new chapter for Ruffner Park that will provide our community with a state of the art recreational facility,” Mayor James D. Stewart, Jr. said.
“As we say here in Irondale, ‘Build community, build the future,’ and that’s exactly what we are doing today.”
The project looks to build three new synthetic turf fields and add new LED lighting, restrooms, walking paths, and a playground to the park, which originally opened in 1960.
Irondale Councilor John London emotionally recalled bringing his three children to the park when they were young to play tee-ball and spending late nights there getting the fields ready for game days.
“It’s been a long time coming and I’m so excited that we have this vision finally coming to fruition,” London said.
“I’m excited to think about those old memories, but I’m excited to build new memories at this new park, and I might even come out of retirement and coach a little baseball again.”
Though Wednesday marked the formal groundbreaking, crews have already been hard at work clearing the park for the new fields as part of the $8.5 million project.
The grand opening, as well as the first pitch on the new fields, is scheduled for April 2025.