Linn supervisors to hear ballfield pitch

Linn County supervisors get their first look Wednesday morning at a plan for a baseball/softball complex north of Marion.

The agenda for the supervisors' formal session includes a report on a feasibility study on Prospect Meadows' proposal for a 17-diamond complex on 120 acres of county-owned land east of Highway 13 and south of County Home Road. The project's supporters say hosting 30 to 35 tournaments a season at the complex would generate $25 million in direct spending and fill 80,000 hotel rooms.

In April, the supervisors appropriated $20,000 for the study at the request of Prospect Meadows, a non-profit corporation.

Jack Roeder, a Prospect Meadows officer, said the consultants' report includes preliminary engineering drawings.

"We're excited about the project, but obviously we need to run this by the board of supervisors and see where they stand, and get their feedback," said Roeder, former Cedar Rapids Kernels general manager.

The supervisors meet at 10 a.m. in the board room at Linn County West in the Westdale Mall.