VERO BEACH — Construction is well underway on a cloverleaf of youth ball fields at the Vero Beach Sports Village. And those fields are expected to fit in nicely with the new partnership between Minor League Baseball, former Dodger President Peter O’Malley, and others.
Minor League Baseball President Pat O’Conner said the newly formed group will continue what MiLB has already been doing at the Vero Beach Sports Village, formerly known as Dodgertown.
“This just lightens our load a bit,” O’Conner said of having an equally divided 5-partner group.
The partnership consists of MiLB, O’Malley, his sister, Terry Seidler, and former Dodger star pitchers Chan Ho Park and Hideo Nomo.
Unlike previously proposed partnerships, this group supports the new, smaller ball fields.
O’Conner said the fields will help bring women’s teams to the Vero Beach Sports Village, as well as more youth tournaments.
“It all comes together as a nice package,” he said.
Earlier this year, O’Conner had worked on a potential partnership with a Vero Beach resident, Marlin “Soapy” Immell, who did not want the fields.
When that plan fell through, O’Conner decided to move ahead with the fields. The $2 million project, which also includes a central concession stand and covered seating, is scheduled to wrap up in April 2012.
On the surface, it might look like Minor League Baseball was scaling back on its involvement at the sports village.
Not so, according to O’Conner.
“This opens us up for more opportunities and activities,” the MiLB president said. “This (partnership) is the one that keeps us the most involved.”
If the Immell lease had gone through, MiLB would have been a tenant at the village and less in control of what it could at the facility, according to O’Conner.
The newly formed company is expected to take ownership of the lease at the Vero Beach Sports Village once the Board of County Commissioners approves the changeover. When that will happen is not known. The matter is not on Tuesday’s agenda for the County Commission.
O’Conner said bringing former Dodger owner O’Malley back to the former Dodgertown facility is fitting.
“He’s a very familiar face,” O’Conner said, adding that O’Malley represents a positive time in Dodger history.
“I always wanted to make the park more O’Malley-like,” O’Conner said. “You can’t do more than bring O’Malley.”