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Mayor Billy Barlow attended the Oswego Little League parade and addressed the players prior to the start of the season this afternoon while announcing a $75,000 grant to illuminate a second baseball field, known as Lagoe Field, at the Fort Ontario Baseball Complex.
The project consists of four new light poles, using LED lighting, to allow night games, additional tournament opportunities, and for the extension of fall ball games and seasons later into the year, all in an effort to continue to grow Oswego Little League in this community.
“The City of Oswego is proud to invest in Oswego Little League to provide an opportunity to expand the leagues and participants, allow for larger tournaments, and ensure the overall fiscal health of the organization,” said Mayor Billy Barlow. “Having a well-run, well-organized Little League program in our community gives our youth great opportunities to play ball, make friends, and learn valuable lifelong lessons. It is critical to our children and to the quality of our community to support the Oswego Little League organization and ensure it carries on as strong as ever for many years to come,” Barlow said.
The Oswego Little League organization has made several recent improvements to the facility including constructing new batting cages, opening a concession stand, installing new scoreboards, and other field upgrades. The overall cost of the lighting project is estimated to be $225,000. The city’s grant funding provides a third of the total project cost, with Little League officials planning to pursue other local grant opportunities and fundraising efforts to fully fund and complete the project soon.
"We greatly appreciate the support of Mayor Barlow and the City of Oswego for our "Light up Lagoe" initiative," said Tim Kirwan, president of Oswego Little League. "We started discussing the potential of installing lights at Lagoe Field in 2019, prior to the pandemic, and then unfortunately we had to table the idea as we navigated through that crisis. With the ongoing enhancements we have made to the Fort Ontario Baseball Complex, including batting cages, new concession stand, field improvements, etc. in recent years, we are excited to garner that momentum again for the lighting project. The new lights will directly impact our Oswego Little League spring and fall seasons, showcase our complex and fields, and allow for tournament play," Kirwan added.
Oswego Little League is a non-profit youth baseball organization, chartered in 1955 in the City of Oswego, with nearly 350 participants a season, and services a broad socio- and demographic makeup of children/athletes/families in this community. For more information, visit https://www.oswegolittleleague.org.
