NEWBURY PARK : Baseball Diamonds to Be Refurbished

Student baseball players who have been shut out of their Newbury Park fields will get three freshly refurbished diamonds next month, after the pony league, city and school district agreed Tuesday to split the cost of fixing up the playing fields.

The Newbury Park Pony Baseball League will shell out up to $40,000 to build a new field at Cypress Elementary School. The league, which has about 500 players, will seek volunteer workers to cut its costs.

In addition, the Thousand Oaks City Council and the Conejo Valley Unified School District will each pay $7,500 to improve and reconfigure two existing diamonds, at Manzanita Elementary School and Sequoia Intermediate School. The city’s portion of the funds will come from a Redevelopment Agency that collects some property taxes from along Newbury Road.

All three facilities will be constructed over the holiday season and should be ready for play when the baseball season opens in March.

“For really a very minimal cost, there can be a significant benefit to the whole community,” Assistant City Manager MaryJane Lazz said. “It’s really a win-win situation for the sports leagues and the youth.”