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Big plans for Big plans for Mini Met

BY MARK WASSON

The board that operates the so-called “Mini Met” is planning to make several upgrades to the iconic baseball park in Jordan in anticipation of the 2024 Amateur Baseball Tournament.

A fundraising campaign that will pay for the improvements will add a new fan experience at the historic stadium, Mini Met Board President Jason Chalupsky said.

The City of Jordan has provided $100,000 for the improvements and a silent donor has put $150,000 toward the $400,000 project.

“From a community standpoint, this thing has been around for ages and is one of the, if not the, highlight of this town that most people talk about outside of the town,” Chalupsky said.

Official fundraising began the week of April 18 and the board hopes to meet its goal by August in order to install a new LED lighting system by winter.

The improvements are planned for the right side of the field. Along with new lighting, the board plans to put in a three-level terraced seating deck, new fencing, an elevated party deck, a new concrete backstop wall and a new netting system, as well as make press box improvements.

The backstop will be torn down and redone with new poles and a concrete kneehigh wall. The press box will receive more of a facelift, as opposed to any structural changes, and seating will be placed in an empty spot along the right side field line.

“The big one will be the party deck right behind the first base dugout,” said Chalupsky, speaking of the upgrades. The deck will provide fans a place to “have a beer and watch baseball right on top of the field,” he said.

The new backstop is planned this fall once teams are done playing games for the season. The patio deck should be put in by the time high school state tournament games are played at the Mini Met next spring, according to Chalupsky.

For Chalupsky, the field is a big part of who he is.

“It’s like a church to me. It’s like my daily sacrificial place that I can go and just be at home and be at peace,” he said.

Jordan Mini Met

FILE PHOTO

Illustrations of planned improvements at the Mini Met in Jordan.

IMAGE COURTESY OF JASON CHALUPSKY