Letter to the Editor: Support Brussels Baseball

I am writing you on behalf of the future of Brussels baseball.

I am a parent of three children in the Southern Door school district and have been a supporter of various sporting programs for more than eight years.

Most recently I have been involved with the Brussels Big Dogs, which is a youth tournament baseball organization consisting of teams of 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12-year-old kids respectively.

It is a good opportunity for our local boys to compete with the better ball clubs around Northeast Wisconsin. Despite a low population density and lack of large amounts of private enterprise funding, the Big Dogs, through hard work and good coaching, are competitive and a top-tier team in our region.

Our home field to hold tournaments is Brussels Town Park. It is a tripartite collaboration between the local Lions club, the town board and the Big Dogs organization.

A large part of the funds raised during Memorial Day and Belgian Days tournaments goes back towards ballfield improvements. In the last several years the Big Dogs have added a secondary field for younger players, a batting cage, new lights, dugout, and concession stand/ scoring booth.

The next big project is to redo the main field inherited from when baseball apparently died in Brussels. The fence is becoming a sharp poking hazard and is in desperate need of replacement before an accident occurs. The backstop is not high enough to protect bystanders or vehicles parked near from foul balls. The field surface is made of a material that becomes quite hard in dry weather and has caused player injury. We seek to remedy these issues to help improve our venue and interest in it as well as improve park facilities for perhaps other organizations to take advantage of.

The cost of the remodel we seek is around $40,000. I believe the Big Dogs has pledged to fund a quarter of this and we are seeking private donors to help get us halfway there so we may be eligible for a grant to get us the rest of the way.

As a youth football coach I have learned that the Brussels park is the birthplace of Southern Door sports in many ways and I try to do my part in the continuity of that success.

Since 57 went around Brussels many lament the availability of a place to get a burger, a brew and watch a game – well stop on down Memorial Day weekend and you can enjoy all three. Hey hey what you say?

I ask humbly for the public to please help support our cause.

Adam Urban

Brussels, Wis.