The Island’s collegiate summer league baseball and high school teams could have an upgraded ball field in the coming years.
Martha’s Vineyard Sharks General manager Russ Curran secured the support of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School committee on Monday night for a two-part renovation of the school’s baseball field — known as the Shark Tank –– for the collegiate team.
The renovation, according to Curran, is estimated to cost $550,000, and the intention is to address safety concerns and improve playing conditions on the field, initially built in 2006.
Curran said that nearly 20 years of seasonal top-dressing to maintain the field in a game-ready condition has caused the ground to rise, leaving uneven areas of the field, as well as hazardous holes around in-ground sprinklers.
“Because of all the top-dressing over the years, the sprinkler heads only pop up so high, and so there’s about 18 sprinkler heads with holes around them, which can cause a problem if someone wants to break an ankle or twist a knee,” Curran told the school committee on Monday night.
The renovation would be completed in two phases if funding is secured — the hope is to repair the infield in October 2026, and the outfield in November. The plan includes stripping the grass, rebuilding the infield, outfield, and warning tracks, and installing new mounds on the field and in the bullpen.
“To have a brand-new field is a lot easier than re-establishing an old field. We put $50,000 to $75,000 into that field every year to keep it where it can be, from fixing sprinklers to everything else,” said Curran.
The Edgartown selectboard has pledged $100,000 toward the project if Curran can secure the school committee’s backing, which he did on Monday. Curran said he hopes to receive additional support from West Tisbury, and is confident they can raise the remaining funds through private fundraising.
Alongside the field improvements, Curran is also proposing the $14,000 installment of automatic camera systems, with six AI-controlled cameras — one in center field, one in the stands, and two in each dugout facing the pitcher and batter’s box. The cameras would make the field ready to stream games on ESPN+.
“The league has been trying to go ESPN+ for some time now,” Curran said. “Myself and four other teams in the league found permanent cameras that could be a solution.”
Curran added before the school committee on Monday that the renovations would not interfere with spring sports scheduling, describing the result ideally as “a clear, beautiful place to play for everyone to use.
“When you walk in there at sunset in the summer and the lights come on, it’s just another beautiful spot on the Island to come and enjoy yourself,” he said.
The Martha’s Vineyard Sharks season is set to kick off June 3 at the Shark Tank, against the Vermont Mountaineers.
The Sharks are coming off a lackluster season last year, but one that saw record attendance in the collegiate baseball league, even higher than many teams in the popular Cape Cod Baseball League.
$550k to renovate seems expensive to me. Why not bid this out and get a better price. I know many of you have money and this may not seem like much, but many others are not so fortunate. Save some money here so other necessary projects can be completed too.
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