A crowdfunding campaign has been launched to build a brand new £55,000 baseball venue in a Childs Hill park.

Herts Baseball Club, which began playing baseball in Basing Hill Park in Barnet in 2019, has pitched to create a ballpark for adult and youth teams.

Normally the club operates in its Hemel Hempstead grounds, but over the past few years there have been nearly more members from north west London than Hemel.

As a result, it became increasingly convenient to play in Basing Hill Park, but the conditions of the floor have been deemed unsuitable to play in.

The club submitted its pitch for a new ballpark to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who is said to be following the campaign closely over the next few weeks.

If the project shows that it has support from the community, the Mayor's Make London Fund could pledge as much as 50 per cent of the total project cost.

The club is looking to raise £55,000 for the new venue, which would be used to level and resurface the playing fields with new grass, install a permanent backstop, create an infield, and bring along team benches and other baseball elements.

The project will also bring the park cafe back to life, a building which has been stagnant for over ten years.

Since the club began playing at the park, members found the playing field surface to be damaged and unplayable.

In 2009, they delivered a similar project with a second field built at their branch in Hemel Hempstead. But with many members being based in the north west London region, Basing Hill Park was selected for members unable to travel to Hemel.

Aspi Dimitrov, the Herts Baseball Club president, said: “It will be a big challenge to reach the crowdfunding target, especially as so many have been affected by the Covid pandemic but, if we achieve it, we will create something very special for the community.

"Every pledge, large or small, will play a vital role in this campaign and supporters can pledge as little as £2.”

The campaign has until May 11 to reach its £55,000 target, and it has already reached nearly £12,000 after 115 backers.

The money raised will be received by the club only if the project hits the target.  If it doesn’t, all pledges will be cancelled.

If the target is reached, work on the project is expected to commence in August and the aim is to unveil the new ballpark in time for the 2022 baseball season.

To support the campaign, visit: https://www.spacehive.com/basing-hill-ballpark