The Salina Parks and Recreation Department plans to relocate a batting cage previously located at Pestinger Field to Bill Burke Park in 2026, officials announced at Thursday's Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting.
The batting cage structure, which was salvaged during renovations at what was formerly known as Wilbur Field, will provide additional training space for baseball and softball players at the Bill Burke complex.
"We saved [the batting cage] for future use," Parks and Recreation Director Jeff Hammond told the board. "We are looking at in 2026 of using that batting cage pitching tunnel structure at Bill Burke."
The former structure measured 30 feet by 75 feet and included two lanes separated by netting. Parks and Recreation staff have identified five potential locations within Bill Burke Park for the relocated facility.
Recreation Superintendent Travis Scheele presented the location options to the board, recommending Option One as the preferred site. This location is centrally positioned within the complex, close to parking, and near utilities needed for the installation.
"It's centrally located. It's pretty close to the parking lot," Scheele explained. "When you think about the high schools and colleges that use it, Kansas Wesleyan is usually on [field] three. Central is on four and five. Sacred Heart's on six. It's readily available for those organizations."
Board members expressed support for the Option One location, with several members voicing their approval during the discussion.
Scheele noted that the facility would serve multiple purposes beyond batting practice, including pitching training, which would help extend the life of the complex's turf fields.
"We're envisioning multi-use as far as obviously batting, but also pitching as well," Scheele said. "What we're finding out is you have some people out there that are taking up a whole field, but really they're just doing pitching drills. So we want to dual use those cages for batting and pitching."
The project is scheduled for implementation in 2026, though no specific timeline was provided for construction.
