Conner Newberry was among the first to try out the Magnolia Batting Cages following a renovation at the Magnolia Sports Complex. Dignitaries cut the ribbon on the cages Tuesday afternoon.

MOULTRIE, Ga. — The Moultrie-Colquitt County Parks and Recreation Authority held a ribbon cutting for its new Magnolia Batting Cages at Magnolia Park Tuesday.

The facility includes two 55-foot batting cages and two soft toss nets. The project has been ongoing since November, according to MCCPRA Interim Director Maggie Davidson. The new cages are replacing the previous one by adding in new netting, metal covering, turf grass and lighting. 

“Through the past years, countless volunteer hours and donations have been made to make improvements to equipment and facilities for various sports,” Davidson said in the inauguration ceremony.

The batting cages were made possible as part of an endowment made to the city “a while back,” Davidson said in an interview preceding the event.

“There was some money that was left to the city to help build up sporting facilities a while back,” Davidson said. “It had been sitting there. The city eventually gave it to us when we became the authority.”

Chick-fil-A youth baseball team coach Kevin Hopper and player Conner Newberry were one of the first to try out the new cages.

“I had seen them working on this. Glad they finally got it open. It’s going to make a lot of kids happy,” Harper said.