The Pima County Board of Supervisors; Supervisor Ray Carroll, District 4; and Pima County
Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation invite the public to the dedication of the Chuck Catino Softball Complex in Green Valley on Saturday, March 1.
Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry; Stan Riddle, President of the Green Valley Council; and Bill O’Malley, President of the Born Again Jocks Association (BAJA), a sporting and community service organization for seniors in Green Valley, will speak at the dedication ceremony at 9 a.m. at
Canoa Preserve Park, 3500 S. Camino de la Canoa, south of White House Canyon Road.
The BAJA league will play an exhibition softball game at 10 a.m.
Catino, who retired from Chicago to Green Valley with his wife in 1996, is a founding member of BAJA. When BAJA attracted so many softball players that enough fields were hard to find, Catino led the charge for Green Valley’s first public park. He secured more than $1.8 million of in-kind and financial contributions for Canoa Preserve Park.
The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted in 2012 to allocate $250,000 to the park to match funds raised by the Sahuarita Unified School District and private donors.
Supervisor Carroll has called Catino, who recently completed a four-year term on the Pima County Parks and Recreation Commission, “the Energizer Bunny for the softball park.”
The park now has two adult softball fields, covered bleachers, and a ramada with two picnic tables and a grill. A trail is under construction. Plans for the park include two additional softball fields, a dog park, ramadas and picnic areas, a playground, restrooms, and parking.
Tax-deductible donations to continue construction of the park are being accepted by the Pima County Parklands Foundation, c/o Gregoria Tucker, Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation Department, 3500 W. River Road, Tucson, AZ 85741. Checks should indicate that the donation is “restricted for BAJA Project #137.”