Rain drops and a wet, muddy ground didn’t stop village and school district officials, coaches and community members from attending a ceremony to mark the beginning of substantial upgrades to the Founders Park baseball field on Oct. 1.
The ceremonial shoveling of dirt among school board members, village council members and other stakeholders culminated years of discussions within the community over the project. There were lengthy negotiations between the Village of Islamorada and Monroe County School District over the $3.8 million in improvements.
For decades, the school district and Islamorada operated under an agreement that allowed the high school baseball program to use the field at the village-owned park for practices and games. With vast improvements proposed at the field, the agreement was reviewed and ultimately revised following a rare joining meeting between the governing bodies. Longstanding differences over certain controls over the project, as well as who’d bear certain costs, were settled. A 20-year pact was agreed to by the village and school district in late July.
“This is an excellent example of governance. Two elected bodies, some similar interests, some divergent interests, came together for the good of this community,” Schools Superintendent Ed Tierney said.
“We listened to the experts in the field. We listened to the naysayers, and we listened to people who really wanted this,” Islamorada Mayor Don Horton said. This is for our youth. This is for the future of our community, and we’re going to bring some good baseball players out of this.”
An extreme Florida Keys environment carried challenges in keeping the natural field in decent shape for young ball players through the year.
Add in the injuries sustained by Coral Shores players in recent years due to the playing conditions, and the push was on by the program and coaches to move to a safer surface for play. Both the Islamorada Village Council and school board agreed.
During a July 2025 meeting, Islamorada Parks & Recreation committee member and retired pediatrician Jon Weare acknowledged concerns with artificial turf for soccer, lacrosse and field hockey due to various sudden movements. But artificial turf for baseball is a safe surface, he said.
Many college baseball programs have moved to artificial turf due to its low maintenance and weather tolerance.
In addition to an artificial surface, the project led by Keystar will construct new fencing, dugouts and batting cages. The improvements will be ready as baseball players take to the field for the upcoming season.
A two-story building for a concession stand, bathrooms and press box, as well as bleachers, that were part of the original $6 million plan were set aside for future discussion.
