Despite heavy rainfall this month, Lenz Field in Jacksonville continues to operate without much trouble.
Owner and President Tom Lenz says the complex has only experienced a few instances in which games or tournaments have had to be suspended or postponed. Since the majority of the fields utilize artificial surfaces, they are playable immediately following rain showers.
“Five of the six fields are playable immediately after a rain, no matter how much it rains, but we don’t like to play in the rain. If it’s raining hard enough then we have to suspend play, and that happens once in a while. It was harder on the fields in June when it didn’t rain, because our grass outfields, we have three fields that have real grass in the outfield, and with the city water restrictions, they wouldn’t allow us to water the fields, and that really hurt us more than anything,” says Lenz.
In fact, Lenz mentioned that large showers can actually be good for the fields…
“A hard rain like last night really helps the fields because it cleans them. Cause you’ve got kids out there sweating and stuff and so, you know, a good hard rain is really good for those turf fields,” explained Lenz.
Lenz Field & Sports Complex hosts the 15U Continental Amateur Baseball Association (CABA) World Series every year. Lenz estimates 19 different teams, representing seven or eight different states, participate in the tournament.