Jeff “Slick” Miller (at left) hopes the reborn ballfield will be named in honor of the late Coach Steve Timmer, shown at his induction into the Minnesota Baseball Hall of Fame in 2021.

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

The long-awaited renovations to Matson Field are finally ready to go. By next summer, says chief fund-raiser Jeff “Slick” Miller, the baseball field at the corner of 11th Street and 15th Avenue North will be ready to host games and tournaments, with crowds of fans watching the action from a comfortable, convenient new grandstand.
The official go-ahead came Monday, when the Moorhead City Council gave its approval to the hiring of a CMAR – a “construction manager at large.” The winning bid was submitted by MBA Development Corp. of Fargo. As CMAR, the firm will represent the city throughout the next phases of the project, from preliminary review of plans and specs to cost estimating. Then a second contract will be written to cover actual construction, expected to begin in October The CMAR contract also guarantees the project’s maximum price to the city based on construction documents and specifications.
Miller explains that the portion of the project expected to begin next month, given favorable weather, includes only the first phase of the renovation. “The new grandstand will come first,” he says. The concrete structure to be built in the southwest corner of Matson Field will stand on the spot where the original seating was demolished in 2008; since then, visitors have been seated on portable aluminum bleachers.
To be built of precast concrete, the new grandstand will include four sections of seating accommodating 325 spectators. Seats in the two center sections, Miller points out, will have backs. Sponsorship of those seats is being sold to baseball fans, who can pledge support over five years.
The stadium will also include a new press box and sound system above the seating. The structure’s cost is estimated at $1.2 million … about the same amount already raised by the ongoing renovation campaign. That funding includes contributions of $500,000 from the Fargo-Moorhead Convention and Visitors Bureau and $250,000 from American Legion Post 21.
Fund-raising efforts are continuing for the second phase of the project. It will include new restrooms and concession areas on the plaza above and behind the seating. Estimated to total between $600 to $700 thousand, the work will also include a new entrance gate at the southwest corner of the property and an electronic sign facing the high-traffic intersection.
Miller is hoping that former baseball players step up to reach a special goal to honor Coach Steve Timmer, who died in March. “Steve coached Moorhead Gold VFW and American Legion teams for 50 years,” he says, “along with junior varsity at the high school.
“If we can raise $200,000 from all his players over all those years, we will rename the complex ‘Timmer Stadium at Matson Field,’” Miller promises.