ROSEBURG – Rain outs and poor field conditions could be a thing of the past at Legion Field after a decision by the Roseburg City Council during Monday night’s meeting.

Councilors gave permission to the local American Legion, Post 16, to start the process of installing a new artificial turf playing surface at Legion Field. The stadium is owned by the City of Roseburg, but the Legion has a long standing agreement with the city to handle much of the regular operations of the field and facilities.

The ball field struggled to keep up with the demands of the spring baseball season with the significant amount of rainfall that hit the region this year. Baseball teams from Roseburg High School and Umpqua Valley Christian had to cancel or postpone games on numerous occasions during the spring. With a new artificial turf surface, rainouts would practically be no more.

The American Legion will first need to raise the necessary funds to pay for the project before getting the go-ahead to break ground on the turf replacement. The estimated cost to replace the entire playing surface is $750,000.

The Legion’s expectation is that the stadium will be available for more games and tournaments with an artificial turf field, which will bring families and fans to the area. Legion Field is currently used by Roseburg High School and Umpqua Valley Christian school during the spring and by three local American Legion baseball teams during the summer. Legion Field has also been the longtime host site for the 4A All-Star baseball series.

According to documents from the City Council, the American Legion plans to start fundraising as soon as possible.

Legion Field was built in 1954 and has a capacity of 3,125. The stadium has hosted several high school state championships, American Legion baseball state tournaments, regional tournaments, and even the World Series on three occasions. It’s one of the largest baseball stadiums in Oregon, south of Eugene.