SARTELL -- With youth baseball numbers continuing the grow, The Sartell Baseball Association is adding two new ball fields to Pinecone Central Park.

The park opened four years ago with four youth size fields and have quickly outgrown the space. Jed Meyer is the President of the Sartell Baseball Association. He says the new fields are geared toward teenage players.

These kids get to play on these fields and when they get to 13-years-old they have to go play on softball fields because they need the bigger field. Which in turn puts pressure on the softball fields. So these fields will fill a need.

The association currently has over 600 youth baseball players that utilize the fields every night. However, Meyer says there are not many intermediate fields in the state for 12 and 13-year-old players.

Jason Mathiasen is one of the board members of Pinecone Central Park Association. He says they've been talking about adding the new fields for a few years now and received a lot of support from the community and local business.

We've had some really great sponsors step up to the plate with their donations which has turned into a $1.3-million project.

Along with the fields, Meyer says they will also add four outdoor batting cages, which is a big draw for their organization.

Having batting cages really makes it a full experience, especially for the two state tournaments we host every summer. It's a very important feature for us to have at the park.

Mathiasen says they will have one ball field ready by next spring. He adds, while they have started the groundwork on the second field, they still have some more fundraising to do before it's completed.

We're between $80-$100,000 away from finishing off the field. The fencing is a huge part of that. We can little things as we go along but getting that fencing up and making it a playable field is important.

If all goes well they hope to both fields open for play by next summer. Pinecone Central Park also has soccer and lacrosse fields.

More From AM 1240 WJON