On November 28, 2018, the Atlantic Community School District created a plan to improve many of the district’s athletic facilities, two of which are the baseball and softball fields.

The improvements proposed for the baseball/softball fields include all new dugouts, batting cages, concessions and more. Voting for the bond was set to take place on March 4.

April 2, 2019, is the day they have set the election for the sports facilities. The softball/baseball fields have been worn down over the past few years, and Mike Anderson, the father of former Atlantic Trojan pitcher Ally Anderson, has spent many hours working to improve the softball fields. According to hitting coach Derek Handel, “Mike always made sure the field were in great condition for every game that we had.”

Head softball coach Terry Hinzmann said, “You always want things to be bigger and better but I feel all the major issues at the softball field have been addressed (by the suggested renovations).” The biggest changes to the facilities will be the dugouts.

The baseball/softball dugouts are fairly old, and many have noticed the wooden benches beginning to show wear and tear. Many of the hooks used to hold players’ bags have fallen off or been broken, and there have also been complaints about a wasp problem in the dugouts.

“There are a lot of amazing upgrades planned, but I feel the best thing will be the new drainage system and landscaping of the hillside that will stop rainwater from running down and washing the infield away,” Hinzmann said. After the rain this past season, water on the infield caused the dirt to turn hard, which makes it difficult to play on. There were multiple times that Anderson and others would have to add more dirt to the field in order to improve playing conditions.