Homebuilders & Remodelers Assoc. offering free family tickets to Muskrats game

LACONIA — Thanks to the efforts and expertise of members of the Lakes Region Homebuilders and Remodelers Association, the Laconia Muskrats now get to play at a field with a replica of Fenway's famed Green Monster left-field wall. As a sign of appreciation, the general manager of the team is honoring the association at its Wednesday, June 27 home game against the New Bedford Bay Sox. Association members will throw out the first pitch, sing the National Anthem, and everyone will have the chance to attend the game for free, as guests of the builders and remodelers.

Look for the ticket printed with this story in The Laconia Daily Sun. It can be cut out and brought to the game – June 27, only – for free admission for an entire family The first pitch is scheduled to be thrown at 6:30 p.m.

"We want to invite the public to come up and celebrate the wall," said Dale Squires, an employee of Belknap Landscape Company and a member of the association. He said that the ceremonial first pitch will be tossed by Larry Greeley, of Tradesmen Builders, who served as the general contractor of the project. Belknap Landscape employee Geoff Nixon is expected to sign the Star Spangled Banner.

In addition, Squires said, there will be building and construction-related prizes and competitions for fans.

Part of the allure of the Muskrats, a team in the New England Collegiate Baseball League, is that it offers a high level of play and entertainment for baseball fans. However, noted Squires, those benefits come without the expense and hassle that local fans endure to see a professional game. With the left-field wall, now painted an appropriate shade of green, he thinks Robbie Mills Field is now even more an attractive local alternative to a major league park.

"We're creating a local landmark that has that Fenway feel," Squires said. "There's local kids, local contractors, local remodelers that have their hands in it." Labor to construct and paint the wall, which next season will feature a deck and beer service, was provided by students at the Huot Technical Center, Belknap Landscape Company, Southern New Hampshire Concrete Construction, Hayward and Company Timber Homes, Chuck Bennett Builders, Tradesmen Builders and Howland Construction.

The idea for the association to organize and donate the project was the idea of member Bob Glassett, with Pella Windows and Doors, according to Squires. Other members jumped on the idea as a chance to showcase the quality of their work and to raise the association's public profile. In addition, he said, builders couldn't resist the chance to help create what he predicted would become a "landmark... It's a neat thing."

About inviting the public for a free game, Squires said "it's an opportunity to say thank-you to the public, which has sustained us for many years... The Lakes Region Homebuilders and Remodelers Association invites you to come and have a good time with us."