Pasco approves contract to build batting cages

PASCO, Wash.-- Once restrictions on construction are lifted, crews can get started building a new set of batting cages at the GESA Stadium complex in Pasco.

At Monday' night's Pasco City Council meeting, council voted unanimously to approve spending $403,101.48 on the project

City officials have been working with the Tri-City Dust Devils to identify projects to improve Gesa Stadium, using funds from a 2019 $2 million bond. Last year, the city used about $1 million to replace seats at the ball park and update lighting. Those improvements were focused on improving the experience for both players and fans.

As the city and the team looked at what could have the greatest impact to the facility and preserve presence of the Dust Devil team in the community, while also satisfying standards for minor league baseball parks, it was determined that constructing new batting cage facilities was should be next on the list of projects.

The new batting cages will double capacity for practice and warm-up sessions, offer users protection from sun and wind and would allow fans to watch practices.

At a recent city council meeting, council members asked city staff to look into whether the funds remaining rom the bond could instead be used for coronavirus recovery efforts.

However, bond requirements limit the bond to use for tourism-related projects, and debt service for the bond would be paid through lodging tax revenue.

Allstar Construction Group, LLC, out of Richland submitted the low bid for the project.

There's no scheduled construction start date due to the state restrictions on construction related to the coronavirus epidemic.