Hello backers and followers of the Basing Hill Ballpark project. In March, Herts Baseball Club came very close but missed out on receiving funding from the Mayor of London for the project. Despite securing pledges from 125 other backers, the original crowdfunding target of £55,000 was just too far to reach without the support from the Mayor. As you may have seen, that campaign’s deadline passed last week so it has now ended. All 125 pledges have been cancelled and no money will be taken from the bank accounts of those who made a pledge. This week the Basing Hill Ballpark project has been given a lifeline in the campaign to secure funding. See the press release with more details here https://hertsbaseball.com/2021/08/03/we-have-14-days-to-make-the-basing-hill-ballpark-project-a-reality/ The club has now launched a scaled-down crowdfunding campaign on Spacehive with a target of £21,409 which covers the first phase of the project. It has pitched to the London Borough of Barnet who have just made a £4,000 pledge which has given the project a lifeline. It is now up to our club to mobilize its members and fans as well as the community and businesses around Basing Hill to see if we can reach the target in the limited time that remains. The campaign must reach the target by 16 August 2021. The money pledged will be received by the club only if the project hits the target. If it doesn’t, all pledges will be cancelled. If the target is reached, work on the project is expected to commence in September and the resurfaced playing field and the new grass should be ready in time for the 2022 baseball season. To make a pledge and for more details, go to the Basing Hill Ballpark (Phase 1) project on Spacehive here https://www.spacehive.com/basing-hill-ballpark--phase-1

We have received a boost with the news that our pitch to the London Borough of Barnet was successful and that they have made a pledge of £4,000 to the project. Our Club suffered a setback in March when we learned that they narrowly missed out on funding from The Mayor of London‘s Make London Fund. Since then we have been in discussions with businesses and organisations and, although the campaign is still far from its fundraising target, today’s news may have a positive effect on the discussions which are taking place with other potential backers. The pledge from Crowdfund Barnet means that, to date, the campaign has received pledges from 125 backers amounting to £16,528.

We know it may seem like the campaign has gone quiet but there has been a lot happening behind the scenes. Our project suffered a setback in March when we learned that we narrowly missed out on funding from The Mayor of London‘s Make London Fund. Since then the club has been in discussions with businesses and organisations and, although the campaign is still far from its fundraising target, it may receive a considerable boost if one or several of these discussions lead to a pledge. The campaign deadline has just been extended to July 21. This gives potential backers, who have expressed interest in the Basing Hill Ballpark project, additional time to consider whether they would like to make a pledge. To date, the campaign has received pledges from 124 backers amounting to £12,528 which is 22% of the £55,804 target. We cannot thank you enough for this fantastic support. We will keep you updated as soon as we have more news. In the meantime, if you know of any businesses and organisations which may be interested to support the project, they can contact our club to discuss ways in which this could be a good fit and beneficial for them. Sponsors would have the additional assurance from the fact that the club passed the project-viability verification process carried out by the independent organisation Locality, which was a prerequisite to pitch to the Mayor of London. In case you haven’t noticed, the 2021 baseball season started earlier this month and our five adult teams are competing in the various leagues of the British Baseball Federation. The club’s newly launched Herts Youth Baseball League is also preparing for its Opening Day. Boys and girls, men and women, from complete beginners to advanced players, are welcome to come and try baseball at our free open sessions to help them decide if they want to join our teams. Contact us if you or your friends and neighbours want to try baseball or would like to receive more details. We look forward to seeing you at the ballpark soon.