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N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Jack Brown Stadium has been a part of Jamestown’s history for several decades, providing a venue for local, regional, and statewide games & tournaments.
Jeff Gould is Jack Brown’s grandson. He’s set out to raise money to upgrade the dugouts at the historic ballpark.
According to Gould, Jack Brown has been site to numerous regional, state, and national tournaments, but the dugout space has prevented them from continuing as a site for those games.
The dugouts will now be roughly 45 feet long and 14 feet wide, allowing for roughly 15 to 20 more individuals to sit inside them. Gould pointed out that they were designed after Major League Baseball dugouts like the St. Louis Cardinals and the LA Dodgers.
The total cost of the project is around $289,000, but Gould says that because of the significance of the stadium and the amount of people who have been influenced by it, fundraising has been easy.
Fundraising started in October 2016 and as of today, 175 people from 14 different states have donated almost $273,000, which is 95% of the goal.
“As you can see the place is special too many people to have this many people giving from different cities around the state as well as all the different states, so this isn’t just a Jamestown thing. It is a very regional and national thing because people want to give back,” Gould pointed out.
Several public entities have also assisted in donating money to the project, but Gould says a lot has come from private donations.
Gould stressed the importance of the stadium and the affect it would have on the community. Tournaments would bring in visitors who would then frequent the city of Jamestown, contributing to the local economy. He says a project like this would not be possible without all the people who deeply care for the community and the stadium.
Individuals who would like to donate money to the dugout project can send checks to Bonnie Ukestad at 1002 2nd Street SE Jamestown, ND 58401 or Jamestown Parks and Recreation Foundation P.O. Box 2014. You can also follow project updates and get more information by visiting the Jack Brown Stadium Facebook Page.
You can listen to a full interview with Jeff Gould below:
Photos courtesy of Jeff Gould and Jack Brown Stadium.
