Batter Up! J.P. Mascaro & Sons Donates First-Class
Recreation Park to LP Township
This time next year, children of all ages will be practicing
their athletic skills at a new state-of-the-art baseball complex fit to host
the Little League World Series. J.P.
Mascaro & Sons, a local waste and recycling company, agreed to donate and
build this recreational facility in remembrance of the late Francesco A.
Mascaro, one of its founders.
“My brother, Frankie, lived a generous life and had a strong
passion for baseball. We thought a
recreation park of this magnitude was a remarkable way to incorporate these two
traits into a project that will benefit the community for years to come and
honor his memory at the same time,” Mascaro President, Pasquale Mascaro, Sr.
explained.
Former Major Leaguers, Bobby Wine and Mike MacDougal, joined
excited Little League players and local township representatives to celebrate the official groundbreaking of
construction. Located on Woodland Ave in
Lower Providence Township, the $2 million park will include three baseball
fields. One field will be suitable for
tournament style play to suit the travel teams who compete throughout the
area. This field will have 10 X 30 brick
dugouts, brick backstop with fencing and will be made of sod. The inning by inning score of the game will
be displayed on a 20-ft wide scoreboard and lights will be available for night
games. These lights will meet Little
League standards and follow Lower Providence Township guidelines. Bleachers will accompany each side of the
field and an elevated grandstand will be placed behind home plate along with a
scorer’s box and PA system to highlight this tournament field. They’ll also be plenty of room along the
outfield lines to place chairs or stand to enjoy the games.
The other
two fields will be suitable for standard boys’ little league or girls’ softball
games using field mix infield. These are proposed with chain link backstops and
also 4-8ft fencing surrounding the fields. They will have dugout canopies built
and bleachers along the base paths. These fields will be seeded.
The majority of the little league infields in the surrounding
areas use the field mix infields to provide versatility and easier
maintenance. This allows the fields to
be used for softball and baseball while allowing different mound locations
depending on the age and speed of pitch.
The bases could also be changed to 50-ft if needed for tee ball
Visitors
will find the main concourse area behind home plate of the tournament field. This area will contain a concession building,
restrooms, a pavilion with seating and a playground to be enjoyed by children
of all ages.
The entire
development area will have a 6-ft asphalt walking path that would be over ½
mile long, extending to the fields and concourse area for ADA access. It will
also stretch another ¼ mile along the front of Woodland Ave to tie into both
the existing crosswalk and the sidewalk from Miami Avenue.
The first
50-ft entrance off Woodland Ave, the ADA parking spaces and the entire walking
trail will be paved with asphalt. The remainder will include crushed stone
along with the parking area with curbed island capable of holding 150 cars. Trees will be planted along the entrance
drive, Woodland Road and the face of the parking area.
Anyone
wanting to practice their swings can do so in one of the 5 batting cages that
will be located on the south side of the park. The northern end of the entrance
road will be bays for the stockpile of field mix/soils and an equipment storage
area.
“At a time when we
are often finding our children indoors attached to the latest electronic
device, it is more important than ever to offer alternative activities to get
their bodies moving and put their imaginations into overdrive. A park like this is every child’s dream and
we are fortunate enough to be getting one in our own backyard at no cost to us,”
local resident, Mike Antinori, expressed excitement over the project.
Mascaro is allowing the township to use a 10 acre portion of
their 38 acre parcel, leaving the fields surrounded by 28 acres of open
space. “Safety and the best interests of
Lower Providence residents has been of utmost importance when designing these
fields. We believe the community will be
ecstatic by the results,” John March, the project engineer, stated.
Construction is expected to be completed by fall 2017 sports
season. It will be a first-class
facility dedicated and named for Francesco “Frank” A. Mascaro.