ARTICLE: Facilities Plan Released (23 July 2012)

DOWNLOAD - Baseball Facilities Development Plan (8MB pdf)

In early 2010, Baseball Victoria commenced a strategic planning process and the organisation's new strategic plan was released to the community with a fitting title for its scope 'Major Fun to Major League 2010 - 2014'.

One of the six key strategic directions of the strategic plan is Facility Development. Baseball Victoria's key objective for facility development is to secure and upgrade facilities to enable the sport to grow.

It was identified that baseball does not have a large facility footprint in Victoria. Its dependence on specialist facilities may potentially limit growth opportunities for the sport, and the lag time in facilities being established may inhibit growth in new markets, such as population growth corridors across the state.

Our research tells us, and so do our stakeholders, that the standard and provision of our baseball facilities in Victoria needs improvement to ensure the capacity and long term development and sustainability of the sport. Action must be taken to address this imbalance. In response, Baseball Victoria has set about the preparation of a Baseball Facilities Development Plan (BFDP) for Victorian baseball Facilities.

Baseball Victoria has engaged leading sports consultancy, insideEDGE Sport and Leisure Planning to assist in the development of the Baseball Facilities Development Plan (BFDP).

The plan aims to review and map all existing baseball facilities, identify the sports future facility needs and guide the development of baseball facilities throughout Victoria. The BFDP will provide a framework for the provision and development of baseball infrastructure and for stakeholder and partner participation in the planning, development and construction of enhanced facilities.

The project will be completed in five key stages between September 2011 and January 2012 with a final report to be submitted to Baseball Victoria for consideration.

Who is insideEDGE?

insideEDGE Sport and Leisure Planning is a consulting firm based in Melbourne. They have worked with major sports contractors, state and local government and more recently with peak tennis bodies (Tennis Australia, Tennis Victoria and Tennis NSW) and the Football Federation of Australia on various state and national facility audits, feasibility studies and strategic plans.

Who will be involved?

Baseball Victoria and insideEDGE will be working with various Local and State Government Departments, Local Government Authorities, as well as our Members (associations/clubs/ facility operators) throughout the project.

Baseball Victoria and insideEDGE aim to keep all stakeholders informed of the progress and development of the BFDP. Regular updates on the progress of the Plan will be provided on our website at key stages of the project.

Baseball Victoria encourages all of its Members (associations, clubs, facility operators, players and coaches alike) to get behind this very important project. The more we know about our facilities and our clubs, the more we will be able to plan for the future. Over the coming months a range of targeted consultation forums and facility visits will be undertaken by the project team.

We want to keep everyone informed and engaged in the process right from the start. So please stay tuned to this webpage for regular updates and do not hesitate to ask questions.

"Baseball Victoria is taking action to enhance the capacity and provision of baseball facilities and infrastructure throughout Victoria. The Baseball Facilities Development Plan is the first step towards and exciting future for baseball in this state," said Baseball Victoria CEO Brett Hidson.

"This Facilities Plan, along with our Participation Research Project (http://www.vicresearch.baseball.com.au/) will go hand in hand to ensure baseball in Victoria can progress in a coordinated way," said Hidson.