By Taylor Seely | Arizona Republic (Image by Paul Brennan)
Three years after the first baseball field in Surprise’s Original Townsite was demolished to make way for an affordable housing complex, city officials made good on their promise to replace the historic field and honor the man who first brought baseball to Surprise.
Some 50 community residents, city council members and staff gathered this month to celebrate the new youth baseball field at Floyd Gaines Park at Nash and Rimrock streets near Grand Avenue.
The $2 million park was constructed sooner than anticipated after city officials said better than expected housing permits issued in 2020 resulted in a $31.5 million surplus in the year-end budget. The park, funded by a $1.5 million grant and $500,000 from the city’s general fund, includes a lighted and netted youth baseball field, restrooms, and a paved and lighted parking lot.
