Elon will begin upgrades to the Walter C. Latham Park baseball facility following the 2010 baseball season. The improvements are made possible by a group of generous donors led by trustee Dr. Bryan Latham and his wife, Janet, of Miami, who made a $250,000 commitment to fund the work.
The couple has made several major gifts to Latham Park, including one to name the facility in honor of Latham’s late father, a 1934 Elon alumnus and standout baseball player. Upgrades will include a new playing surface, drainage and fencing.
The gifts from the Lathams will enable Elon to replace the park’s entire playing surface. The outfield will feature a new drainage system identical to that in Rhodes Stadium while the infield will be replaced with FieldTurf. With the addition of FieldTurf, an artificial surface, Phoenix baseball will be able to resume practices and games much sooner following rain and wet conditions.
Latham said he believes in Elon, which meant a great deal to his father, and is proud of his association with the Phoenix baseball program.
“I wanted to continue to honor my father, who received a great education at Elon under difficult economic circumstances,” explained Latham. “I want that commitment to continue for a long time, and this gift is a way to cement that commitment.”
“We are very grateful to Dr. Latham and Janet Latham for their continued and gracious support to help make enhancements to our baseball facility possible,” said Dave Blank, director of athletics. “We share the vision and optimism that our donors have regarding the future of Elon baseball. Their commitment will benefit student-athletes for years to come.”
Other donors who have helped support recent improvements to Latham Park include former Elon baseball player Skip Moore ‘77 and his wife, Victoria, whose gift funded a new scoreboard. Jim and Gail McGill, Gary and Debbie Davis and Kevin and Margaret Dugan also made generous gifts to enhance Latham Park.