BAKER — BREC officials said Friday that the Baker Ballfields improvement project at Baker Park will include synthetic turf fields, practice areas, a concession stand with restrooms, batting cages, warm-up areas and new parking.

Baker Mayor Darnell Waites, Metro Council District 2 Councilman Anthony Kenney and Mayor-President Sid Edwards joined BREC interim Superintendent Janet Simmons and BREC Director of Planning and Engineering Angela Harms at an event to discuss four projects, all anchored by the ballpark.

The project is estimated to cost between $4 million and $5 million.

Officials are considering three layout options for Baker Park. One plan focuses on high school fields, another includes two softball fields and a third would feature a four-field complex with concessions in the middle and batting cages.

Harms said that leadership in Baker is leaning toward the third layout with four fields. 

Another project discussed at the meeting was South Magnolia Park, with concepts including walking loops, improved playgrounds, sports fields, a baseball field and tennis courts, with the possibility of adding pickleball or basketball.

Harding Street Park has already received improvements to its own baseball field and restroom facility, but Harms said officials are looking at what other improvements could be made. 

The final project, Greenwood Park, which sits between North Baton Rouge and Baker, is expected to start construction soon.

The Baker and South Magnolia projects are expected to start in 2027 and last about a year. 

"We have invested millions of dollars over the last 10 years and we've talked about these projects," Waites said.

He added that the next five to seven years could bring a state-of-the-art community center to Baker.