Edinburg opens new turf fields; officials cite economic boost

City officials and the Economic Development Council (EDC) on Saturday cut the ribbon on newly installed turf baseball and softball fields in Edinburg, celebrating what they said will be a boost to youth sports and local tourism.

Speakers said the fields will improve player development, bring more tournaments to the city and generate spending at local hotels and restaurants. "If we have a tournament here with only 10 out of town teams that stay, eat, sleep in Edinburg, the return of investment in one weekend was about $400,000," Councilman Dan Diaz said, citing an economic-impact study conducted for the EDC.

The study and EDC funding were presented as the rationale for the project. A presenter at the ceremony said voters had approved authority in about 2012–2013 allowing the EDC to support quality-of-life projects; the presenter described that ballot measure as "an overwhelming vote, like, 70%, I believe." The speaker and others credited that authorization with enabling the EDC’s participation in the turf project.

Robert Bergasa, the EDC executive director, thanked the council and the EDC board and described the turf fields as part of a longer strategy of investing in "quality of life" and placemaking. He listed other recent investments including the Recreation Center, North Park, Beethoven Park and the ACE Building.

Javier Garza, the city’s parks and recreation director, emphasized health and participation goals and noted the department expects to build on roughly 1,500 children already enrolled in city youth programs this year. Garza unveiled new electronic scoreboards installed at center field and demonstrated features he said were included: "It's got a pitch count," he said, describing the scoreboard's capability to show pitch and game information.

Organizers said the fields will also accommodate adult and senior leagues, and officials said they plan to recruit larger tournaments to the area. Garza announced that opening ceremonies are scheduled for April 3 at Richelford Stadium. The formal ribbon cutting concluded with officials and children running the bases; Parks staff offered light refreshments to attendees.

Many of the numerical effects cited at the event—estimated weekend spending of roughly $400,000, the vote approval rate and the 1,500 participant figure—were presented by speakers as study results or recollections and were not independently verified during the ceremony.

The ribbon cutting was ceremonial and no formal council action or vote took place at the event.