No one can say for sure when the last competitive baseball game was played at Met Stadium.What we do know is that the next one is only two days away.Thanks to several weeks of work by a number of volunteers, the diamond's makeover is expected to be nearly finished in time for Friday's over-35 exhibition game between the Estevan Drillers and the Oxbow Chiefs.The final product will be unveiled July 9 as the Saskatchewan Baseball Association's Twilite Division Maxi Tournament (over-35 provincials) kicks off in Estevan."I think there's a group of people that have been really good to minor ball that the diamond means a lot to and I think people were feeling not very good about how it was," said tournament co-chairman Lindsay Clark. "It was overrun with weeds, gophers had taken over, and there was nobody playing on it so it became part of the focus for a lot of people who have been good to minor ball."Since provincials were awarded to Estevan, the former home of the Ace Mud Mets has had the grass trimmed, the pitching mound rebuilt, the fence repaired, the gopher holes in the outfield filled, new shale laid in the infield, and new benches installed in the dugouts.Clark says another new addition to the stadium should be ready for Friday's game but he has asked that it be kept under wraps until game time.Met Stadium, located in Woodlawn Regional Park just north and east of Estevan Woodlawn Golf Club, was built in the 1960s as it was felt Estevan Minor Baseball teams needed an up-to-date field to play on.Ray Frehlick, manager and sponsor of the Mets, still recalls the community support that helped get the stadium built and the commitment of the team's players who were front and centre in maintaining it's status as one of the nicer stadiums in the province."Sometimes we'd water that diamond after a game and we'd water it all night long," said Frehlick. "Two or three ball players would get up during the night to move the sprinklers into the outfield, so they had a lot of pride for that park."The Mets won a number of league and provincial titles over the years and even hosted the 1969 Western Canadian juvenile championship."In those years you couldn't squeeze another car or person in there," said Frehlick. "They were lined up even in the outfield."Met was eventually fazed out of use with the construction of newer diamonds at what is now known as Lynn Prime Park.Naturally, Frehlick is excited to see his old team's stomping grounds getting spruced up, even if it is just for one last hurrah."I certainly am," he said. "And I hope that it's utilized more. It's too bad because it's certainly not as convenient as Lynn Prime Park now. Those are two nice diamonds and they've got the lights and all, but certainly down there [in the park] it was a beautiful setting."
