When community members see a need and work together, it’s amazing what can be accomplished.
About two years is what it took for the Baseball Legacy Committee (BLC) to put together a pitch for a new concession stand in Swan River Legion before they will be able to put it in to action.
“We’re hoping to have everything like a normal concession would have,” said BLC member Tracy Boychuk, noting usual favourites like hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, taco in a bag, possibly some pulled pork sandwiches, slushies and more.
“It should be open for some of the first games we have down there. The interior is basically ready to go. We just have to buy a few odds and ends to be able to run it so people don’t have to bring down their roasters and all that anymore.”
Boychuk added that she expects that the regular baseball games may not have full menu service, depending on what volunteers can be lined up, but she does anticipate the full potential on event days like Canada Day (July 1) or National Indigenous Peoples Day (June 21), which is intended to be the day for the official grand opening of the new public facility.
The installation should be a great benefit for those that use the shared space.
“Before, we just had that side garage that was outfitted with a utility tub that drained into a bucket,” said Boychuk. “Now, we have a state of the art facility with stainless steel countertops, cabinetry, garden door fridge, convection oven, over the range microwave, slushie machine, and we’re moving the freezer from the old concession space so the Town can use that for their storage.”
From the time they broke ground at about this time last year, the main part of the project is complete. What remains is Phase 2, which consists of memorial benches for the area nearby the concession, in honour of Joel and Amara Campbell, a brother and sister from Minitonas who both passed away tragically and separately during their teen years in 2020.
“We’re going to be securing some quotes on stamped concrete so that once that is done, there is no maintenance required and it will look nice all season long,” said Boychuk. “Eggies’ Greenhouse have also donated some ornamental trees and shrubs that they are putting together for us.
“It will be really nice once this is done and people will be pleasantly surprised. And, this comes at basically zero expense to the taxpayer, funded and done by a volunteer group. It would be nice to do another project in the future.”
Proceeds from the sales during National Indigenous Peoples’ Day will go towards the finalization of the project, with any excess from sales or additional donations possibly going towards further improvements to the area, such as updated benches along Jack Brown Diamond.
All donors will also be displayed on a donor board to be installed in the near future.
“Hopefully the community will enjoy it and appreciate the time, energy and thought that went into it to make it as good for the community as we could,” Boychuk concluded.