The pitcher’s mound and backstop no longer exist. The infield is overgrown, with weeds running from baseline to baseline where players once plied their trade. Dugouts and bleachers sag, in dire need of care.
But to del Valle, a Cuban-born businessman who now calls Saint John home, this tired old diamond has become a field of dreams.
Del Valle is among a small group known as the Friends of St. Peter’s Baseball Field, dedicated to refurbishing the historic space in the heart of the city’s north end.
Their belief: ‘If we rebuild it, they will come.’
An aerial view shows St. Peter’s Field in Saint John’s north end. A group of volunteers has initiated a project to renovate the diamond, once one of New Brunswick’s finest playing fields. Photo by HAROLD WRIGHT
The group has held preliminary meetings with municipal, provincial and federal officials in the hope of gaining support for the refurbishment. They are also working with the City of Saint John to develop a revitalization budget as part of the process of submitting funding applications.
In addition to seeking government funding, Friends of St. Peter’s also intends to apply to the Jays Care Foundation, which has contributed more than $200 million to grassroots baseball-related projects since its inception in 1992. In 2025, through its Field of Dreams initiative, the foundation committed $1.5 million to 15 projects across Canada, including initiatives in Lower Sackville and Waverley, N.S.
“Everybody we’ve spoken to, whether it was a volunteer, a politician, business or community leader, everybody has been supportive of the idea. It’s one of those things where you feel the universe is lining up for something good to happen,” said del Valle, who moved to Saint John 20 years ago.
Del Valle’s involvement with the project began with a conversation in August of 2024 with another baseball parent, Adam Doherty.
As they sat and watched their sons play at a ball park in Moncton, Doherty mentioned a field in Saint John he thought was worth saving.
Del Valle’s passion for the project only grew after discovering one of his boyhood idols, Antonio Muñoz, had played at St. Peter’s as a member of the Cuban national team, which toured Atlantic Canada in 1976. On July 9 of that year, a packed crowd watched Cuba prevail 15-1 over the Saint John Dodgers. The Cubans also defeated senior teams from Moncton, 22-2, and Fredericton, 1-0, as part of the goodwill tour.
“I get a sense and a vibe when I am at the field. I get a feel for what it can be, to restore it to its glory days,” del Valle said.
“It’s been a big part of the history of Saint John for more than a century, and I think we shouldn’t just let it die.”
Saint John Deputy Mayor John MacKenzie, left, joins Friends of St. Peter’s Baseball Field members Yan del Valle, centre, and Adam Doherty, at the north end diamond during a meeting earlier this summer. Photo by HAROLD WRIGHT
Doherty, the president of the Port City Pirates Baseball Association, said the hope is to have the field in playing condition within a year. But the work won’t stop there.
“We are at the very beginning of trying to get it back to a playable field. We’ve outlined what we see as three phases. Phase one would be to get it playable. Phase two would be what can we do to improve the outer part of the field, and phase three would be the cosmetic improvements.”
St. Peter’s Field dates back to the early 20th century. In its heyday, it was home to major gatherings, concerts, and, of course, baseball. In 1956, it was the site of the first Little League game played in Saint John. It has hosted provincial, regional and international games.
In 2014, it was the site of the Bantam Atlantic Baseball Championship. A year later, after a fallen tree caused significant damage to St. Peter’s backstop, the city took the field out of rotation, citing decreased usage and ample capacity at other fields. However, it has continued to do periodic maintenance work on the field since.
Marc Dionne, director of parking, parks and recreational facilities, is among the city staff helping a group of volunteers with an initiative to revitalize St. Peter’s field in Saint John’s north end. Dionne is seen at one of the city’s ball fields at Shamrock Park. Photo by RANDYO'DONNELL/BRUNSWICK NEWS
Marc Dionne, the city’s director of parking, parks and recreational facilities, said Saint John has seen a decrease in usage in all its fields from about 5,300 users in 2018 to 3,200 in 2024. The decline comes at a time when the city’s population is growing. In 2024, the population reached 78,156, up more than 11 per cent from 2014 when 69,895 residents called Saint John home.
The city currently operates 14 fields for softball and baseball, an inventory that has remained stable since the removal of St. Peter’s in 2015. However, the number of fields available to city baseball associations also decreased with the 2017 closure of two schools operated by the Anglophone School District: Havelock and Seawood elementary.
“Our desire would be to see Saint John continue to grow, get more people involved in different sports, get the community out there,” Dionne said.
“… The city is doing a little better financially now. There is a strong commitment, in my opinion, from this council to improve recreational facilities, a kind of theory, ‘build it and they will come.’ ”
That optimism is echoed by Deputy Mayor John MacKenzie, who, during a tour of the field earlier this summer, recalled playing on St. Peter’s as a youth.
“I love this project. I think it’s a really good grassroots initiative. The city is in a position now, in a great position that we haven’t been in a long, long time, where we can work towards making something like this happen, whether that’s with in-kind services such as assisting with our staff and our equipment, or helping apply for grants within the different levels of government,” MacKenzie said. “For a project like this, the time would be perfect.”
Added del Valle: “There is this consensus with everybody we talk with that we want this to be something that we can be proud of in Saint John. However, with all the good intentions and all the meetings that we’ve had, we have to translate that into actual financial support.
“The project seems to have a lot of momentum and a lot of people agreeing. I believe we will see the field back in play in a series of phases. But we are all here shooting for the stars.”
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