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County Planning Board backs Diethrick Park upgrade

By Gregory Bacon 6 min read

The Chautauqua County Planning Board has conceptually backed a proposal to make $30 million worth of upgrades to Diethrick Park.
[/caption]A proposed $30 million project at Russell Diethrick Park has received the backing of the Chautauqua County Planning Board, although many more steps are needed.

During Tuesday's county Planning Board meeting, members voted 6-2 in favor of SUNY Jamestown Community College's proposal to create a multi-purpose soccer, baseball and softball field. Voting in favor were Doug Bowen, Susan Asquith, Jeff Gossett, Zachery Dean, Bruno Bruni, and Mary Ellen Humphrey. Dick Patton and Melissa Myers voted against it. Courtney Curatolo abstained because she is employed by the college.

Even though they voted in favor of it, the planning board is strictly an advisory board and has no legal authority. The vote was held in part as a request by county Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon, who was in attendance at the meeting, but is not a member.

The proposal needs the backing of the county Legislature to finance 25% of the project, which would be $7.5 million.

Last year, JCC requested the county spend $941,000 for a new soccer field that would have cost $3.5 million to install.

The legislature rejected the request for a new soccer field and said they were more interested in upgrading Diethrick Park, making it a multi-use stadium.

JCC put together a business plan for the stadium upgrade with a price tag of $30,308,246. Officials also looked into creating a separate soccer field, but the cost for that has risen to $5.5 million. The advantage for a separate field, college officials said, is because the field wouldn't need to be reconfigured for baseball and soccer. Also, baseball and softball is played in the fall while soccer is played in the spring, so scheduling will be a challenge, with a single multi-use field.

PROJECT DISCUSSION

During Tuesday's Planning Board meeting, JCC President Daniel DeMarte gave a PowerPoint presentation on the project. He said the field would be a three-in-one turf field for soccer, baseball and softball.

There are no plans to replace the bleachers. Last December, there had been talk about removing all the bleachers, but that was expected to cost several more millions of dollars.

Other improvements include changes to the office; the remodeling of the locker and training rooms; the installation of a cover on the batting cages; the addition of portable bleachers; and improvements to the concession stands.

Should the renovation take place, the park would be available for rent by various organizations.

JCC would like to break ground in 2025 and be finished by the end of 2026.

In order to meet the aggressive timeline, the county Legislature would have to approve its funding portion this fall before JCC can seek state funds from SUNY.

If both the county and the state approve the project, JCC would be responsible for raising $7.5 million as well. DeMarte said he is confident that they will be able to raise their portion if it gets approval from the county and state.

Another key part is that the stadium is currently owned by the city of Jamestown. In order for the project to move ahead, DeMarte said the city must be willing to transfer ownership to JCC. That's because the state will not fund a project that the college does not own.

DeMarte said the college will ask the city if they will keep their staff at the park until JCC has the manpower and the finances to take it over. He said he had preliminary discussions with the former mayor, but nothing formal had been agreed upon.

"That request is still there. That may or may not be sufficient moving forward," he said.

NEED FOR UPGRADE

DeMarte said an upgrade to the field is long overdue.

For both soccer and baseball/softball, some area high schools have better fields than they do. DeMarte said they often will practice at Jamestown and Falconer high schools after 9 p.m. because that's the only time they can get.

Many times they can't even play regular games on the soccer and baseball fields.

DeMarte said they have three dorms, with a total capacity of 340 students. He said without athletic students, they wouldn't be able to fill them. He estimates that student athletes can fill one dorm alone.

JCC Athletic Director George Sisson said they recruit all over the world for their soccer program. The majority of their boys team is from outside the United States. The girls are more local.

DeMarte said if they don't have a quality facility, they will struggle to find top level athletes. "We are seeing athletes who choose to go somewhere else after they visit us. What's at stake is our ability to not maintain the level we're at right now if we don't do something with our facilities," he said.

DeMarte said there are a number of organizations that support an upgraded Diethrick Park. Those "community partners," as described in the power point, include: Jamestown Tarp Skunks, Jamestown Babe Ruth, Babe Ruth World Series, Chautauqua Striders, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs, Collaborative Children's Solutions, and the Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau.

DeMarte said if the field and stadium are upgraded, they can host high school Section 6 playoff sporting events.

There is a possibility the filed could be reconfigured for lacrosse and football. DeMarte said there is no plans to add football, but it could be used for high school playoffs.

JCC does not have a lacrosse team either, but DeMarte said the possibility exists that the school could add that sport.

PLANNING BOARD COMMENTS

The planning board gave JCC a list of about 50 questions regarding the project. Most of the questions had to do with enrollment, funding, marketing and community engagement.

After a two-hour discussion, board members began discussing the project on their own.

Bowen, the chairman of the planning board, asked members for an up or down vote on the project conceptually. He said whether the project should get funding ahead or after other projects would be determined through a ranking process.

Patton said he has concerns about recruiting international players. He said he was a varsity athlete for the college during the 1950s, a graduate of the college, a former coach and instructor.

"JCC is Jamestown community," he said. "That community is Chautauqua County. How it fits anybody else I'm not quite sure. It seems to be overwhelmed in their athletics from people far away."

Asquith said right now the stadium isn't good for the fan experience. "Just from going to a Tarp Skunks game, it's marginal at best. … Things have to evolve," she said.

Gossett said all schools are chasing international student athletes and out-of-state students.

"That's where the money is," he said.

Without good amenities, colleges can't recruit students. Gossett said that may be difficult for a lot of people to hear but things are changing. "You've got to quit being old school and move forward with some of these nice amenities, which will do a lot for the community, not just the college," he said.

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