Ooltewah Youth Association reports park improvements

OOLTEWAH, Tennessee (WDEF) – The Ooltewah Youth Association is upgrading their facilities for sports activities.

They are spending more than $100,000 from registration fees, tournaments and sponsors to improve youth recreation.

The work has already begun and should be done over the next few months.

“We believe parents of children playing at our park today should see the benefits of their registration fees before their children age out of our programs,” said Victor Steen, President, OYA.

“This investment confirms our commitment to utilize the tools available to us to provide the best possible experience for children playing baseball, softball and other sports for physical activity and social development.”

Here is what’s on tap:

$55,000: surfacing 5 fields at East Hamilton Rec Park

$23,000: new batting cages at East Hamilton Rec Park

The Youth Association is going through another record year for growth.

“We have 720 children playing baseball or softball at OYA this spring,” said Steen. “Our enrollment numbers have grown 47% in softball and nearly 10% in baseball since last spring. We literally have outgrown our park and are paying to use fields at another facility to accommodate all of our teams. It’s a good problem to have.”