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Serving Columbus & Starkville, Mississippi        (https://cdstg1922.wpenginepowered.com/) Home  » (https://cdstg1922.wpenginepowered.com/news/) News  » City looks to partner with MUW for baseball field at Propst   (https://cdispatch.com/news/columbus-lowndes-county/) Columbus & Lowndes County   City looks to partner with MUW for baseball field at Propst By (https://cdispatch.com/author/emcraecdispatch-com/) Emma McRae  • 10 hours ago  • 4 mins to read   (City looks to partner with MUW for baseball field at Propst)   City Engineer Kevin Stafford speaks during the city council work session Thursday at City Hall. Stafford presented two potential cost estimates for a new baseball field at Propst Park that would serve Mississippi University for Women Athletic Department that ranged from $2 million to $5.4 million. Emma McRae/Dispatch Staff  The city is considering a new partnership with The W Athletics Department to have the softball fields on the north side of Propst Park redeveloped into a permanent baseball field for the university. The proposal, which the council will consider during its Tuesday meeting at the Municipal Complex, seeks to solve a longstanding problem for Mississippi University for Women, which has no baseball field on campus and no room to build a new one. If the university had a National Collegiate Athletic Association-regulation field, Athletics Director Buddy Foster said the city could reap the benefit of tournaments coming to town – roughly $299,100 in economic impact annually, he estimated. (https://cdispatch.com/news/city-looks-to-partner-with-muw-for-baseball-field-at-propst/attachment/buddy-foster-2/) ()    Buddy Foster    “That’s a little bit of an underestimate because it’s hard to predict parents who are traveling and all that to come watch their sons play,” Foster told the mayor and city council Thursday during a work session at City Hall. “So those numbers are not in there. That is purely the cost for teams to travel here to the city and stay in our hotels and eat meals here at our restaurants.” Foster said the baseball team currently plays home games at Columbus Christian Academy, though the athletics department has had partnerships with Heritage Academy and Columbus High School in the past. “However, that field (at CCA) is not regulation, and so it limits us and who we can host and who’s willing to come into the city to play,” Foster said. The new field would be located on the north side of Propst Park, where there are currently four out-of-use softball fields and dilapidated facilities for restrooms and concessions. City Engineer Kevin Stafford said preliminary plans for redeveloping the area run about $5.4 million on the higher end when accounting for all the bells and whistles, including the baseball field, collegiate level dugouts, batting cages and press boxes, as well as a practice field, new restrooms and a new concession stand. The $5.4 million option would also include updating the one remaining softball field for city use after the other three are redeveloped. Stafford said there are less expensive options. “We think a $2 million budget would get you where you need to be again with proper dugouts, bullpens and the field itself with the lighting, scoreboard – all the things we have to have in order to play,” Stafford said. To fund the project, Mayor Stephen Jones said the city could potentially borrow funds to be paid back by The W once it begins leasing the facility. (https://cdispatch.com/news/new-council-names-stewart-vice-mayor/attachment/jones-stephen-this-one/) ()    Stephen Jones    “Same thing we did with our funds for Propst Park (improvements),” he told The Dispatch after the meeting. “We did a bond (issue), and we’re paying it back with 2% tax. So it would work that same way, but it also gives them an opportunity to have a home field.” The city approved spending $4.4 million in 2023 to make improvements at city parks. The bulk of that funding – $3.4 million – funded improvements at Propst Park, including swapping the locations of the baseball and softball fields. The now-turfed baseball fields are now located on the west side of the park, while the youth softball fields currently used are on the east side. Foster said the partnership would build on a longstanding tradition of MUW and the city supporting each other. Student athletes are required to do community service, racking up more than 4,000 hours with city entities last year, he said. The new facility at Propst Park would allow the department to build on those efforts by hosting camps and clinics, he said. “This is where it could really be a draw, is in camps and clinics and summer tournaments and getting the youth more involved in the city,” he said. (https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/copy_link?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fcdispatch.com%2Fnews%2Fcity-looks-to-partner-with-muw-for-baseball-field-at-propst%2F&linkname=City%20looks%20to%20partner%20with%20MUW%20for%20baseball%20field%20at%20Propst) (Copy Link)  (https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fcdispatch.com%2Fnews%2Fcity-looks-to-partner-with-muw-for-baseball-field-at-propst%2F&linkname=City%20looks%20to%20partner%20with%20MUW%20for%20baseball%20field%20at%20Propst) (Email)  (https://www.addtoany.com/share)    McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.  You can help your community Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. 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