A proposal to upgrade several baseball diamonds in St. Paul is moving forward as the County of St. Paul reviews a request for financial assistance from the St. Paul & District Minor Ball Association.

The upgrades are intended to bring several diamonds up to regulation size requirements for a wider range of age groups, allowing more teams to use the facilities and improving scheduling flexibility for local baseball and softball programs.

The request was submitted by St. Paul & District Minor Ball Association President Chad Kully, who outlined the project in a letter to County CAO Jason Wallsmith.

“SPMB has been evaluating upgrades to some of the existing ball diamonds with the purpose of having diamonds meet regulation size requirements of more age groups,” Kully wrote in the request.

Expanding infields to support more age divisions

The project would focus on expanding the infield shale areas, allowing longer base path distances that meet the standards required by Baseball Alberta for older age groups.

As an example, Kully noted that Diamond 5 currently only meets requirements up to the 13U level, but the upgrades would allow it to host 15U baseball games.

“The benefit of the upgrades is greater flexibility in the scheduling of the diamonds,” Kully wrote.

Currently, some older teams have very limited options when booking field space.

“SPMB 15U and 18U baseball teams currently can only play at Diamond 6 (Jaycee Diamond),” he explained.

Baseball Alberta is also considering increasing the base path distance for 11U players from 60 feet to 70 feet, which would further increase demand for upgraded diamonds.

“Without completing diamond upgrades, we would be limited in the amount of diamonds that would be able to accommodate this increased base path distance,” Kully said.

Three diamonds targeted for upgrades

The association plans to upgrade Diamonds 1, 4 and 5, with construction targeted for April 2026.

The work will involve removing sections of grass and replacing them with shale to extend the infield areas.

Some additional improvements shown in early drawings — including warning tracks and grass infields — will not be included in the initial phase of the project.

Instead, the association plans to focus on improving multiple diamonds rather than completing a larger upgrade to only one field.

Fundraising for the project began in 2024, and the association is now ready to move forward with construction.

Estimated cost of $38,400

The total estimated cost of the project is $38,400, broken down as follows:

▪️ Shale material – $15,000
▪️ Trucking from Heisler to St. Paul – $5,000
▪️ Labour – $11,000
▪️ Equipment – $7,400

Kully said the association has already lined up support to help complete the project.

Local contractor Location Cats has agreed to complete the upgrades and has offered to match any financial contribution by donating equivalent labour or equipment time.

“Location Cats is prepared to match any financial contribution by donating an equivalent value in labour/equipment,” Kully wrote.

Town of St. Paul already supporting the project

The Town of St. Paul has already reviewed the request and passed a motion supporting the project at its February 23, 2026 council meeting.

Council approved the purchase of the shale material needed for the upgrades, with the cost to be reimbursed by the Minor Ball Association.

The town also agreed to match a financial contribution up to $7,000 with the County of St. Paul toward the upgrades.

County council reviewing funding options

County council reviewed the request and was presented with several options, including approving a financial contribution, denying the request, or providing other direction to administration.

CAO Jason Wallsmith submitted the request to council with a recommendation that council provide direction on how it would like to proceed.

The project would benefit players from both the County of St. Paul and the Town of St. Paul, as teams from across the region use the local baseball facilities.

“Our baseball and softball players include residents of both the County of St. Paul and the Town of St. Paul,” Kully wrote.

“SPMB is looking forward to working together with the County of St. Paul and the Town of St. Paul to complete these upgrades to enhance the experience of the baseball and softball players in the community.”

Council is expected to provide direction on the funding request following further discussion.