Matthew Boyea updated his fellow trustees on improvements to the legion’s baseball field, by Malone-Dufort Airport, that would need to be made for the Empire Baseball League to bring a team to Malone. (Provided photo — Alexander Violo/Malone Telegram)

MALONE — Village trustees continue to talk about the potential of an independent baseball league bringing a team to Malone.

Trustee Matthew Boyea updated the board, at a workshop Wednesday morning, on improvements to the legion’s baseball field, by Malone-Dufort Airport, that would need to be made for the Empire Baseball League to bring a team to the area.

Boyea said a group from Malone recently met with five individuals from Tupper Lake who helped bring a team to the southern portion of Franklin County.

“It’s something that I believe could be worthwhile,” Boyea said. “It is going to take a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but the community has got to get behind it, the village has to, I’m assuming the town would too.”

Boyea said a big part of this project would be improvements to the baseball field itself.

“A lot of work has got to be done on the field, it’s a big project, it is a major, major deal,” Boyea said. “The field is going to take a lot of work to get that ready, there is a lot to it, a sound system, the lighting, just preparing the field and maintenance.”

Trustee Archie McKee asked if there was an estimate for the cost of rehabbing the field by the town office on Route 11.

Mayor Andrea Dumas said though there was no official estimate it would likely cost approximately $75,000.

“They don’t have to have lights the first couple of years, because they play the games early enough. If they need to have lights, they can go to another field, but this is a field they could play early games at,” Dumas said.

Dumas said a substantial amount of clay is needed for the field to accommodate proposed improvements.

According to Dumas, the league has about $20,000 to put toward the project.

Boyea said the project has a lot of potential.

“It just totally rejuvenated Tupper Lake to the max,” Boyea said. “We are just going to see where it goes from here. I will keep you posted. It is going to be a lot of work really, but we got time, it is not going to happen overnight.”

Dumas said she went to a couple games in Tupper Lake this summer to see the league for herself.

“It was interesting to see the amount of people who came to the games,” Dumas said. “It is a lot of work, but they (Tupper Lake) had a lot of support too. They got the right field, and the right players involved right now.”

The league’s owner Eddie Gonzales visited the village in June to discuss the possibility of having a team in Malone to take part in the developmental independent pro summer circuit for players who range in age from 21 to 26.

The Empire league currently has three teams in the North Country, playing in Plattsburgh, Saranac Lake, and Tupper Lake.

Dumas said Gonzales was in Malone five years ago, wanting to bring the league to Franklin County.

“Nobody jumped on it, so they went to Tupper Lake, and that is how it started there,” Dumas said.

Boyea agreed it would be a good addition to the community.

“They want to be able to create another team here in Malone, which I think would be a good idea overall,” Boyea said.