A new home for Lords softball team

The Durham Lords women’s softball team will be stepping up to the plate on a new field soon as the college is constructing a new team facility.

Durham College (DC) and its athletics department have announced the construction of a new women’s softball facility at the Oshawa campus has commenced, and will be complete by August.

The facility, which will include a 100 per cent synthetic SPORTURF playing surface with an underlay shock pad for safety, will become the new home of DC’s award-winning women’s softball program.

The new softball facility will give DC the ability to host provincial, national and international games and special showcase camps. It will also house new campus recreational programs for students.

It will have a seating capacity of 400, including 100 VIP seats, and a custom press box at the top of the stadium bleachers will allow for livestreaming of home games and VIP hosting.

Replacing the current halogen light system will be MUSCO LED energy-efficient stadium lights to eliminate light spill. This new feature will also provide the capability to match light requirement levels for broadcast TV.

“I am so excited to see this facility become a reality,” says DC athletic director Ken Babcock. “We will have an amazing new home for our highly successful championship women’s softball program, and with our colder climate and weather, the artificial turf will allow us to extend the playing season on both ends. This will soon be the best place to play women’s softball in the country.”

Other features of the new softball facility include: team studio dugouts, dual batting tunnels for training, bullpens, a new scoreboard, maintenance storage and equipment, coaches’ room, and an umpire change room.

New team change rooms will be completed during the second phase of the project, which is estimated to begin in the summer of 2021.