Support BAJA Softball
There are over 160 softball players and during the Winter League season, many fans come out to the Catino Softball Complex to support their “favorite” teams. Everywhere you look, you will see the names of local businesses on team shirts, on the huge banners hung on the fences, and on the scoreboards. When you see green fields, then you know how much we appreciate donations to our BAJA Park Fund.
Check out all the ways you can support this great Green Valley area community sport,
how you can get involved, and how to become a BAJA MEMBER!
Donate to The BAJA Park Fund!
The BAJA Park Fund is managed by the BAJA BOD under contractual agreement with Pima County and is used for such things as over-seeding (so we have green grass) and other significant county approved park maintenance. Please help us fund our annual over-seeding:
Mail BAJA Park Fund donations to:
BAJA Sporting Club, PO Box 1341, Green Valley, AZ 85622
Please make check payable to BAJA Sporting Club. In lower left corner of your check, please write 'For BAJA Park Fund'
About the Catino Softball Complex
Canoa Preserve Park
Green Valley’s First County Park
Chuck Catino and other BAJA members worked with Pima County to build the first county park in Green Valley, Canoa Preserve Park. Chuck Catino said the idea for a park was hatched in 2003, and really got off the ground when the Canoa Preserve LLC said it would donate the land. The 53-acre Canoa Preserve Park, is built on a former sand-and-gravel site donated by Canoa Preserve Development Partners. Caterpillar, Sierra Mining and Crushing, and Farmers Investment Co. donated $1.2 million in services to build the park. BAJA raised $135,000; the Sahuarita Unified School District raised $160,000, and Pima County donated $250,000. Build-out will cost about $6.5 million. The Canoa Preserve Park was dedicated on Tuesday, March 26th, 2013. Activities included a home-run derby and a softball game featuring athletes from the Born Again Jocks Association, or BAJA, and the Special Olympics.
→ Tucson.com - Park Is Planned for Green Valley
→ Tucson.com - Green Valley Gets First County Park
Canoa Preserve Park wins an award
The American Public Works Association (APWA) awarded Pima County their 2013 best practices and projects award for the unique partnership between the county, a community organization and a company (Fico). The Pima County “Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation received Project of the Year award for Canoa Preserve Park, in Green Valley, in the Small Cities and Rural Communities category. It is the first county park in the Green Valley retirement community.
Dedication of the Catino Softball Complex
Chuck Catino was integral in developing BAJA’s award-winning partnership with Pima County to create the softball complex in Canoa Preserve Park. The Pima County Board of Supervisors, Supervisor Ray Carroll, District 4; and Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation invited the public to the dedication of the Chuck Catino Softball Complex on March 1, 2014. Chuck “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…and was fondly referred to by Carroll as “the Energizer Bunny for the softball park.”
→ Webcms.pima.gov - Catino Softball Complex Dedication
As of August 2021, Canoa Preserve Park currently has:
- three adult softball fields
- covered bleachers at each field
- restrooms
- drinking fountains
- ramada with two picnic tables and a grill
- trail linking the park with the Anza Trail via the Abrego Trail head is under construction
Existing plans for the park include a fourth adult softball field, off-leash dog park facility, pickleball courts, youth soccer field, playground, pedestrian path, concession building, a bandshell, additional ramadas, picnic areas, restrooms, and parking.