Menlo Park: Little League returns on a new Burgess Park field Menlo Park: Little League returns on a new Burgess Park field (April 06, 2005)

By Rebecca Wallace

Almanac Staff Writer

New teams and a new season ... and a new field. What more could young Little Leaguers ask for?

On Saturday, April 9, the Menlo-Atherton Little League will swing into its new season at Burgess Park at the Civic Center. The opening-day ceremony will go hand-in-hand with the dedication of the new ball field at Burgess, which was recently spruced up as part of sweeping renovations at the park.

The grassy expanse will be named Tom Harrison Field, after the veteran parks and recreation commissioner who died last year after an illness. After a brief welcome at 9 a.m. on April 9, Councilwoman Lee Duboc will speak about Mr. Harrison's work in the community.

After Mr. Harrison's daughter, Sarah Sorensen, speaks, the field's new sign will be unveiled near the Alma Street parking area, community services manager Bob Roessler said.

Then it will be time for the traditional Little League season kick-off, with all the players being introduced and running through the crowd, league president Tom Gaa said. At 11 a.m., the Lutticken's deli and Draeger's market teams will play on the new field.

During the work on the field, the old field was stripped and graded, supervising engineer Art Morimoto said. There is now new grass, as well as new backstops, fences, dugout benches and a restroom/concession building.

In total, the construction budget for the Burgess Park project is about $3.8 million. It also includes a new concrete skate park, which may be finished around the end of May, depending on the weather, Mr. Morimoto said.

In a separate project at Burgess, three new pools and a lobby and locker room facility are expected to be built by early 2006 at an estimated cost of $6.8 million.

The work at Burgess is being fueled by Measure T, the 2001 $38 million bond measure.

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