Storms cause major damage at Hermon Brothers Field

PALMER — With no planned major renovations of Hermon Brothers Field on the horizon, Mat-Su Miners general manager Pete Christopher thought he’d have his easiest offseason in years.

But Mother Nature blew that plan.

Recent windstorms, which included reported gusts up to 100 mph, caused an estimated $25,000 to $30,000 damage to Hermon Brothers Field, the home of the Miners, Christopher said.

“This is the most damage ever to the field,” Christopher said of his decade as the team’s G.M. “I thought this was going to be the one spring in 10 years I could sit back and concentrate on getting the field in shape. Now it’s crazier than ever.”

The team’s umpire shack, a small building that houses a changing room for umpires on game day, was flipped into the air by the wind and split apart. Winds hit the left center field fence hard enough that it now leans at an angle. The force of the winds also snapped the welding and bent the four-inches pipes that are buried 15 inches into the ground to support the fence.

Christopher estimates a 60- to 75-foot stretch of fence is at a lean and in danger of crashing to the ground.

A bulk of the estimated cost to repair the damages may come with the probable replacement of the field’s scoreboard. Christopher said IBEW purchased the scoreboard for the team in 1997. A new scoreboard could cost between $10,000 and $15,000, Christopher said.

The Miners, a 501c3 nonprofit, rely on volunteers and donations to survive, and lean on loyal supporters even more when facing problems such as repairing the current damage.

Christopher said when the weather improves, he and Bob Plumley, the Miners’ volunteer assistant general manager, will do what they can to move forward with the new projects.

“We’ll have to start working, taking (the fence) a part on mild days,” Christopher said.

Christopher is not as worried about the umpire shack.

“That can be done in a weekend,” he said.

But the cost to replace the scoreboard and the extensive repair to the fence worry him.

“It’s disheartening,” Christopher said.

The fence was rebuilt in October 2009 and had to be repaired because of wind damage in January 2010.

Those repairs could be minor compared to what the Mat-Su Miners are facing now, Christopher said.

In the meantime, Christopher said Miners officials are trying to come up with a way to prevent further damage to the fence. Once suggestion is to find a piece of heavy equipment, like a dump truck, to park outside of the field behind the fence.

Christopher said he will make calls this week, but if anyone is looking for a place to store some heavy equipment over the winter, they should contact him.

Those interested in donating time, money or resources are asked to contact Christopher at 745-6401 or gmminers@gci.net.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.