Winter weather has delayed the construction and previously scheduled opening date of Rose Park until March.
The park was originally scheduled to open this weekend for a softball tournament hosted by Belmont. But because of the weather delays, the park is not expected to be ready for play until the first week of March at best, said Mark Grones, the liaison between Belmont and the construction company.
“The weather has created serious problems with getting work done,” he said.
There are still a number of things that must be finished before the park can open, including finishing the installation of baseball, soccer, and softball fields, and the installation of a parking lot and additional lights for the soccer field, said Grones.
“The next week will be key,” he said.
If the weather cooperates, construction will be “back on track.”
“We moved from an excellent weather situation in the fall, where we were able to get a lot of work done outside to a very challenging wet winter,” he said.
According to The Weather Channel, Nashville has received 12.5 inches of snow in 10 measurable snowfalls so far this winter, more than six inches above the city’s average.
Despite these setbacks, both the baseball and softball teams have backup venues to play their home games at before the Rose Park opening. The baseball team will play at Shelby Park in East Nashville, and the softball team will play at Aquinas College.
“We’ll always have a contingency plan,” said head baseball coach Dave Jarvis in a previous interview. “We’ll deal with the weather and whatever else happens.”
The softball tournament scheduled to be held at Rose Park this weekend will be played at Columbia State Community College, nearly an hour from campus.
The athletics department wants to ensure the Rose Park renovations are quality, and is willing to delay the park’s opening to accomplish this, said associate athletic director Steve Barrick.
“We don’t want to rush it. We want it to be done right,” Barrick said. “It’s open when it’s going to be open.”
When completed, Rose Park will be the home to Belmont’s baseball, softball, soccer, and track and field teams.