Adam Wainwright pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals for 18 years. When he goes to Mallery Park, he thinks back to being three years old and watching his brother play there. He later played on the same fields himself, and five of his children have followed. He told The Brunswick News: "Everybody has a Mallery Park type of place. It's my happy place."
Today that place is behind a construction fence. Glynn County scheduled Mallery Ballfield Park to close on Oct. 19, and it expects the park to stay closed through the end of February 2027. The winter closure has a specific purpose. The park's three ballfields are being rebuilt to roughly the same regulation size, and that is what St. Simons needs to host tournaments.
One Size Is the Whole Point
The new dugouts and the covered batting cage will get most of the attention. The bigger change is the measurements. The Brunswick News reported that the most significant part of the work is resizing all three fields to roughly the same regulation size. Once that's done, St. Simons can host baseball and softball tournaments.
The same report gives the limits. The rebuilt park will be able to host baseball tournaments up to 12U and softball up to the high school level. Softball shows what this changes. St. Simons teams have often had to drive to the North Glynn Recreation Complex and compete with many other teams for field time there. "The girls are always looking for softball fields," Wainwright told the paper.
Fields that match in size let tournaments come to the island.
The rest of the work supports that goal. The Brunswick News lists new fences, rebuilt dugouts and seating, new audience stands, and a batting cage with a roof. Glynn County's own summary, as quoted by the paper in May, adds improved lighting and irrigation, walkway and accessibility upgrades, and infrastructure updates across the complex. Wainwright called the batting cage "the biggest need out there," since so many teams and parents share it.
Designed Around the Oaks
Mallery's canopy limited where the fields could go. Wainwright told The Brunswick News that the plan had to "work around all the giant oak trees that have been there since George Washington," and that the team had found a good way to do it. The project is being designed by Coleman and Company, according to The Islander.
Some of the groundwork is already done. The north-end parking and drainage work, which Wainwright calls phase one, was paid for with SPLOST 2022 sales tax money. Glynn County's project page lists it as completed April 11, 2025, with final spending of $1,589,440. Wainwright described that phase as the big parking lot outside the park, plus ditching that replaced the old retention pond and freed up space. The fields could be reconfigured only after that space opened up.
Who Is Paying for the Fields
The ballfield work uses a different funding model than phase one. On Aug. 20, 2026, the Glynn County Board of Commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding with the St. Simons Island Athletic Association. Under it, the county funds the engineering, design and plans, and SSAA funds and builds the improvements in phases as money allows. In short, the public owns the park and private donors are paying to rebuild the fields.
| Piece of the project | Who pays | Latest reported status, October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| North-end parking and drainage | Glynn County, SPLOST 2022 | Completed April 11, 2025, at $1,589,440 |
| Design and plans for the ballfields | Glynn County | Coleman and Company is the designer |
| County contribution to the renovation | Glynn County | $500,000, plus a design consultant and a project manager |
| Fields, dugouts, seating, batting cage | St. Simons Island Athletic Association and community donors | Fundraiser near its $5 million goal |
| Storm drainage, sidewalks, concrete flatwork | Glynn County bid | Bids due Nov. 12, award planned Nov. 18 |
In May, The Brunswick News described the renovation as a $3.5 million project. Its lead sponsors were Patrick Parker and Davis Love III, with Wainwright also among them. In its later report on the closure, the same paper described a local fundraiser close to a $5 million goal. Local attorney Ben Hartman, another organizer, said the campaign had several dozen contributors and was led by Adam and Jenny Wainwright and Davis and Robin Love.
The money runs through the Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation's Mallery Park Renovation Fund. Keeva Kase, the foundation's president and CEO, grew up playing baseball at Mallery, and his own children play there now, he told The Brunswick News in May. Commissioner Bob Duncan, who represents St. Simons, called Mallery "sort of like the flagship park for children's athletics on St. Simons Island."
The campaign is still open. Commemorative engraved bricks for the renovated park start at $1,000, corporate sponsorships are available, and donations go through the foundation's giving page. "I feel like there's so many people who want to be a part of it and have their name there forever," Wainwright said.
Two November Dates on the County's Side
The donor-funded fields are only part of the work. Glynn County put a separate public-works contract out to bid on Oct. 16. That contract covers storm drainage improvements, 4-inch sidewalks and the concrete flatwork that connects them. The bid documents leave the fields, dugouts, batting cages, lighting, irrigation and landscaping for separate contracts.
According to the county's procurement listing, bids are due Thursday, Nov. 12, at 1:30 p.m., and the county plans to award the contract on Nov. 18. The award will show who is pouring the walkways families will use to get from the parking lot to the stands.
All of this has to fit before opening day. The Islander reported that the work is targeted for completion ahead of the Spring 2027 season. The MOU also requires SSAA to schedule its work to limit disruption to games and practices.
What Stays Open on Mallery Street This Winter
Mallery Park at 601 Mallery Street normally includes three baseball fields, batting cages, restrooms, a picnic pavilion, a concession stand and a playground. The St. Simons recreation offices are also there. Kings Park, across the street at 602 Mallery Street, stays open during construction. Here is what remains available:
- Tennis and pickleball. Kings Park's four pickleball courts and dual-striped tennis courts are unaffected.
- The dog park. The fully fenced off-leash dog park in Kings Park stays open.
- Basketball. Kings Park also has an outdoor basketball court.
- The recreation office. It stays open for program registration, facility rentals and general questions.
- Restrooms. The Mallery restrooms are closed during construction. Temporary restrooms are set up in Kings Park.
The construction has also moved the youngest players. The Islander reported that county soccer for three- and four-year-olds was moved to the front lawn of Neptune Park because of the Mallery plans. The arrangement is temporary, though it could become permanent if families like it.
When the Fence Comes Down
The county's timeline points to a reopening by the end of February 2027, just before the spring season the work was planned around. The design keeps the old oaks in place. The fields themselves will be new, and all three will be close enough in size to host baseball tournaments through 12U and softball tournaments through high school on St. Simons. Island softball teams have often had to compete for field time at North Glynn.
Projects like the Mallery rebuild are the local details our senior team follows on the island. If you'd like to talk about how changes near Mallery and Kings Park might affect a home you own or are considering on St. Simons, Pitts Wilson would be glad to help. Schedule a free consultation.
