Members of the Ladysmith Eagles present the Town of Ladysmith a $50,000 cheque for new scoreboards at three local sports fields. (submitted photo)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

PLAY BALL

New state of the art scoreboards coming to Ladysmith sport fields

Apr 3, 2022 | 10:14 AM

LADYSMITH — A handful of local sports fields are getting a facelift.

Forrest Field, Aggie Field and Holland Creek Ballpark will be on the receiving end of new modern and remote-controlled scoreboards courtesy a $50,000 donation from the Ladysmith Eagles.

Club vice president Jim Cram told NanaimoNewsNOW it’s one of their largest community gifts to date.

“As a group, the ladies and the men got together and decided to do something big and special in town rather than spend it on small projects. We looked around and realized there was a glaring weakness we could help out on.”

The scoreboards are set to be up by the summer.

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Formally named the Fraternal Order of Eagles #2101 Aerie and Auxiliary, the club has a long history in Ladysmith and typically donates around $30,000 every year to a variety of local sports and community groups.

Money is collected through the hosting of banquets, which dried up considerably through the pandemic, and gaming revenue.

Much of the $50,000 however stemmed from the closure of the Harbour City Bingo Society in Nanaimo. To clear their books, money was given to local groups to then pass on to projects in their communities.

It’s just one of a number of projects happening to improve local sporting infrastructure, namely at Forrest Field.

Cram said it’s a testament to small town connectivity to finally see four major community groups pulling in the same direction on a project.

“We’ve got all four clubs, Kinsman, Rotary, Lions and the Eagles working together and the projects we’re working on is to fix up the Forest Field, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done around it.”

A path is being built around the field, making it more wheelchair friendly while other projects in various stages of development include exercise areas around the field, stands and finally a ball diamond at the Forest Field site.

The field is used extensively by the community as well as for wider applications such as VIU soccer. Local football and the Mid-Isle Soccer Club are also regulars.

Cram said a separate project this year is to install a pickleball court to accommodate rising demand for the sport in the area.

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