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Published: Tuesday, Jan. 08, 2013 / Updated: Monday, Jan. 07, 2013 03:58 PM

Keep Knights Stadium for baseball

Keep stadium for baseball

I have been recently reading articles about the future of Knights stadium. I have read articles about many companies submitting bids to build shopping centers, housing and office buildings. I believe the best idea is to keep Knights Stadium intact and insert multiple fields in the current parking lot.

Many of the local baseball teams could use the stadium. Nation Ford and Fort Mill could play two annual games against each other a year. The two schools could also play regular season and playoff games there as well. With both teams being moved up to AAAA, they could draw large crowds against local Rock Hill and Northwestern high schools. Last May I attended the AAA baseball championship game at Fort Mill High between A.C. Flora and Fort Mill. It was standing-room only about 30 minutes before the game started. Knights stadium would have been a great venue for this game.

Champions Baseball Academy is located right down the road and is continuously expanding. Their teams could practice and host numerous tournaments throughout the summer and fall. There are tons of other travel baseball teams that could use the field in the summer. There are numerous teams that play in the Summer Collegiate Baseball league (SCBL) that could move to Knights stadium or create a home based team there. The Fort Mill Post 43 American Legion baseball team could also play their summer games there and could potentially host the state or regional tournament. Youth teams could also play their games on Knights field. Soccer, field hockey, lacrosse games could be played in the outfield grass or other fields that are built.

I know that it would cost York County some money to build more fields and maintain Knights stadium but I believe that keeping the Knights stadium could create a huge economic impact for Fort Mill and York County. Soccer, field hockey, lacrosse games could be played there throughout the year and potentially 75 to 100 baseball games.

Tom Skula

Fort Mill