|
CAMERON WOODS FIELD IS QUITE SPECIAL TO THE WRIGHT BOYS
Baseball fields hold a special place in the hearts of both kids and grown ups.
In 1991 seeing a bare stretch of land seemed like a good spot for an athletic field for the 804 Cameron Woods home sites to enjoy according to Bill Wright, who lives adjacent to the field. Wright tried to convince UDC, the now defunct developer who built Cameron Woods, to help him flatten out the tiered field. However seeing that UDC segment of the neighborhood was already developed Wright figured it was futile in that the developer had no incentive to outlay the money to excavate the field and develop into a nice athletic field. 
UDC did refer an excavator that did give Wright a break in that they only charged $1000. to level the field, which was currently in three tiers for future tennis courts.. The project came with many setbacks.
Wright didn’t anticipate hitting a rock vein just inches under the surface that stretched from the right field pole to left field pole.
“It was a sea of rocks” Wright said.
With few options, Wright located a machine that was the only one of its kind in the city for a $500. one day rental.
“It’s called a Rock Hound and it cost me $500. It looked like a machine that picks up gold falls at a golf course. It was effective, however it left everything under the size of a golf ball. So with the help of about 10 neighbors we had a “rock party” at 9 am on a July morning in 1992. It was unequivocally the hottest day of the summer. There were buzzards flying lazy circles overhead. We had to bail about after an hour.”
Because of the amount of rocks Wright had to bring in about 10-15 trucks of top soil. The cost was high, but it was a must. He then planted Bermuda Grass but without irrigation the grass all died. The next step was an irrigation system and that set the project back another $2,200.
Once the field was set, the scoreboards and bases were added. Due to pranks and vandalism, several would end up in the lake or gone, so the bases had to be cemented in. In time the wooden backstop was replaced with a better looking chain link, and a 48 inch outfield fence was installed.
“I give the Cameron Woods Homeowners credit because they spilt the cost of the new backstop with me. I think it looked so bad that they wanted to upgrade it.”
Wright next installed two 500 watt lights, mostly for safety and anti vandalism
issues but in reality It wasn’t enough to play at night.
As the end of the millennium kicked In , Wright admitted his interested tended to fade now that the field was pretty much finished, However
The 2 oldest of The Wright kids, Alex, 17 and Bryan, age 16, both Charlotte Catholic High School students, took the reigns over and started putting their own touch on the field in terms of maintenance and appearance. The boys instituted outfield distance signs such as “149” feet to left and the other signs such as such as 40 yard field goal from this point and replaced the foul poles. They repaired the beaten up outfield fences, constantly applying weed killer to the basepaths etc Wright Sr. states that he is pleased that they have “raised the bar” in terms of the appearance of the field.
“They stepped it up a level which I think is great. It looks nicer and better maintained.”
Alex stated that the field was started in the early 90s with combination of fescue and Bermuda but they are now trying to trasition to Bermuda 419, the kind of low to ground grass you see on golf fairways.
Bill has since installed better lighting with two 1500 WATT Sportsliters, the same kind as used on athletic and tennis courts. The power for the lights comes from Wright’s house.
Park Sharon, YMCA soccer as well as Southpark football occasionally use the field for overflow practice facilities. The Wrights also just installed recorded live security cam that’s working and is online that was installed just in time.
“Somebody decided to be an arsonist in training recently and there they were live on Memorex and someone trenched the field with their car and as soon as we’re online we will have link to it and see if anyone can ID the car. It was quite entertaining actually.”
There is also a Frisbee golf course that shares the perimeter of the field ( http://home.earthlink.net/~cya.discgolf/)
Wright has also added an “alternative History” to the ballfield online. Take a look at www.cameronyards.com. for that.
Wright would like to thank the Cameron Wood Homeowners Association for cutting the grass on the field and the Cameron Wood Swim Club for providing the extensive water for irrigation. In addition Wright wanted to thank Fairway Green Lawn Maintenance, 704- 617-1574 for their two year plan to make this field a real showcase.”
All told Wright guestimates he has over $12,000 invested in it and its not even his property but he rationalizes “how often to you get chance to have a 2 acre multi use park in your own backyard.?”
“I get a kick out of when I see a dad trying to teach his 5 year old son or daughter how to bat. Ironically none of my kids play baseball,” Wright said.. “They are all into football, basketball and soccer. I still haven’t figured that one out.”
To learn more about this project, please visit www.cameronyards.com | 
