Basing Hill Ballpark (Phase 2)

Who we are

Herts Baseball Club is a non-profit organisation which was founded in Hemel Hempstead in 1996. The club is affiliated with the British Baseball Federation. Our teams play in the various tiers of Britain’s regional and national adult and youth baseball leagues providing the opportunity to play baseball to boys and girls aged 6 to 14 and men and women aged 14 to 60+. The club welcomes everyone, from complete beginners to advanced players, from those looking for casual play in a social environment to those looking to compete at the highest level. Herts players are frequently selected by the various Great Britain National Teams. The Club attracts a lot of media interest and is frequently featured on BBC and other television channels and radio stations.

To meet growing demand, the club built a second baseball field at its Hemel Hempstead branch in 2009. This led to a period of rapid growth. The club has grown from 19 club members in 2004 to 200 members in 2021 becoming one of the largest baseball organisations in the country. 

History of baseball in Basing Hill Park

With so many kids and adults wanting to play baseball in NW London, the club decided to set up a branch there. Most playing fields were already taken by other sports. The only viable venue was Basing Hill Park but its playing field had deteriorated over many years. It was last used by football teams more than 15 years ago and the park cafe was abandoned. The field has been further damaged by local police using it to train their horses.

Herts baseball teams started playing there in 2019. 

Phase One - Completed

In 2021 the club raised £21,413 through crowdfunding for the first phase of the project which aimed to re-grade, level and resurface the baseball playing field with new grass.

Contractors were appointed in September and the work was completed in October.

The new grass is progressing well and is expected to be ready for games in May 2022.

Phase Two is next

The club is now crowdfunding to install the baseball elements and bring baseball and softball into the heart of the community.

 What we will deliver

• Install baseball backstop
• Install infield perimeter fence
• Install infield cut-out clay areas around the bases and the pitcher's mound

(example of a baseball backstop and infield perimeter fence)

(example of infield cutout clay areas around the bases and pitcher's mound)

Why it’s a great idea

Over the years the club has seen children and adults of all ages (6 to 60+), with diverse backgrounds, from low and high income families, male and female, from complete baseball beginners to advanced, join the club. Everyone plays.

Growth in participation accelerated further after the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox came to play games at the London Stadium in 2019 in front of a 60,000 sellout crowd.  

Despite the poor state of the playing field and the Covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the number of enquiries from kids and adults in NW London continued to grow. In 2021 the club had 41 registered adult league members and 24 youth league members based at Basing Hill Park. This pushed the total number of club members up by 44% last year to 200 adult and youth players.

The community has rediscovered the important role which parks and outdoor sports play in our lives. This project will create a clean, safe and well run baseball venue. It will make Basing Hill Park even better and will bring people together in a Covid-secure environment.

Steps to get it done

• April/May 2022: Install infield cut-out clay areas around the bases and the pitcher's mound
• April/May 2022: Install the baseball backstop and infield perimeter fence
• May 2022: Grand Opening of Basing Hill Ballpark with youth and adult baseball league games

 Track record of delivering large scale projects

Herts Baseball Club has an excellent track record of delivering projects successfully in a professional manner, on time and within budget. We implemented an almost identical project in Hemel Hempstead in 2010 which led to rapid growth. 

When the Basing Hill Ballpark project is realized, we aim to grow the programme and add value to the local community in the same way as we have been doing in Hemel Hempstead over the last 25 years.