Southside Little League is raising money to repair its Hurricane Ida-ravaged field. It could take $20,000.

Southside Little League is raising money to repair its Hurricane Ida-ravaged field. It could take $20,000.

By Genesis Ortega

September 29, 2021

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Southside Little League Field at Saucon Park in Bethlehem was destroyed earlier this month because of the heavy rain and strong winds brought on by Hurricane Ida. 

The storm was powerful enough to make a big mess, Coach Roy Ortiz said. 

“The gates came down, our concession stand got flooded, we lost all our equipment, our garage got flooded. We lost all our tractors to maintain the fields,” he said. 

He’s looking to raise money on GoFundMe, to help with the repairs needed and to replace the existing 83-year-old concession stand. 

“We need to make money in order to purchase certain items like uniforms, baseball gloves, bats because some of our kids’ parents can’t even afford that,” he said. 

“This is for the kids. I don’t get paid a dime. and I just want to make sure that the kids have baseball in their lives because there’s a lot of kids that want to play baseball,” he added.

Last year the field was similarly destroyed by flooding. Most of that damage was repaired with a $10,000-grant from the city of Bethlehem. Ortiz has asked the city for more permanent solutions. 

Ortiz said estimates show it may cost up to $20,000 to get back up and running. 

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