The Toronto Bue Jays Jays Care Foundation is investing more than $1.3 million in community baseball infrastructure across Canada including $25,000 into Swift Current Minor Ball.

The investment is made through its Field of Dream program and will see 15 organizations located across five provinces and one territory receive the money to build, enhance, or restore baseball diamonds.

Kevin Patenaude, Swift Current Minor Ball board member, said that the money is going to go towards helping them expand Ford Feild.

"It's exciting for the community but more for the kids for today and the future playing baseball," he said. "With the grant, we are going to expand our current PeeWee diamond and convert is to a proper Bantam diamond. Issues we've had in the past is that the current bantam diamond is just too small so we haven't been able to host proper provincials and different events. We think when it's all said and done it's going to be second to none in the province. It's going to be exciting for the kids that get to use that diamond for years and years to come."

Patenaude explains what the changes to the diamond are going to look like.

"We are going to be basically pushing it back," he said. "The backstop is going to come back, and it will come into the parking lot a bit. We are going to try and keep the home run fence close to the same, so we don't encroach upon the residence that are behind there. Really we are going to be moving the diamond more back towards the south. Your dugouts need to be replaced; there will be new fencing, there will be additional irrigation and further grass that will need to be done. It's a really big project."

He adds that they are going to begin construction right away when Western Canada Summer Games are done and hopes that if all goes well, they will be able to have the diamond operational by June 1 of 2020.

"I hope it's a quick as we can. We are going to really get going and if we can have a real good fall and get most of the work completed there is a chance that we can be playing on the diamond next season," he said. "I liked to think that maybe June 1 of next season it will be all done. We will need a bit of growing time with the grass, and we want to make sure it's properly mature before we start playing on it."

The total cost of the project according to Patenaude is roughly around $50,000-60,000 to expand the diamond. The City of Swift Current will be helping with other funding.

Patenaude adds that this is something the minor ball organization is eager to get done.

"We are always putting our hand up to host provincials whether it's at the double a level or at the triple a level but we are just going to be really eager to want to host high-end bantam type tournaments, so I think you will see decent triple a type tournaments to Swift Current in the future."

Jays Care has committed nearly $8 million to 66 infrastructure projects across Canada.