HARTWICK SEMINARY - Chicago White Sox co-chairman Eddie Einhorn last week announced some additional details about his revised plan for a youth baseball facility on Route 28, in the town of Hartwick.

Hartwick town planners had a first look at preliminary plans during a site plan conference with Joe Durand of Plumley Engineering last week. Plumley successfully shepherded Erfan Kahn's Holiday Inn Express proposal through the review process in Hartwick recently.

When it became apparent his facility in Hartwick could not be build in time for this summer's season, Einhorn opened his Cooperstown Baseball World in Oneonta and made use of the facilities at the State University of New York. The youth baseball camp was so well-received by participants that it will remain in Oneonta.

"Ironically, what started out as a backup idea for Cooperstown Baseball World in Oneonta has turned out to be the model and the most talked about tournament experience for youth baseball players of all ages," Einhorn stated in a press release. "The facilities, including dormitory rooms and use of the college dining hall at the College of Oneonta, coupled with new modern youth fields, and the use of perhaps the most fabled minor league field in America (Damaschke Field), cannot duplicated anywhere in the country."

According to Einhorn, parents and coaches complimented Baseball World on combining baseball with a preview of college life for the players while still being close to Cooperstown.

Next summer, Einhorn plans to play host to 200 teams of players ages 11 to 15 during its eight-week season.

With Baseball World established in Oneonta, plans for the Hartwick facility have changed along with its name. The Route 28 operation will be called Cooperstown Baseball Complex and will compliment the Oneonta summer tournament camp.

"After much research and discussion with top officials in major league and youth baseball, I reached the decision that the youth baseball community would be better served if we did not build another facility similar to Baseball World in the Cooperstown area. These tournament camps are reaching only a small percentage of the youth teams who want the experience of playing baseball in Cooperstown," Einhorn stated.

The new complex would be open to youth teams from all over the world who come to visit Cooperstown and want to play in the area as teams do now at Doubleday Field.

"Cooperstown Baseball Complex will allow a whole new group of youngsters a chance to visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame and also have the experience of playing a game or two in the area without having to commit to a whole week there," he said. "Also, staying only a few days will relieve some of the turnover problems expressed by local businesses."

The complex will be open to teams or organizations to play qualifying or championship tournaments and will be available on a straight rental basis by the game or hour. There will also be optional services, including umpires, equipment, souvenirs, hotel booking and tours.

Cooperstown Baseball Complex will be open seven-days-a-week for a minimum of 125 days a year, from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend and a fall season which is anticipated to stretch to the end of October.

The six fields are divided into pairs with outfield fence dimensions of 200-225-200 for little league, 275-300-275 for 12- and 13-year-old players and two fields of 320-375-320 for older players. The fields will not be lighted and eventually the complex will have a snack bar and changing rooms.

The original plan for a Dreams Park-style camp drew concerns about its impact on water supply and the environment, but the current, scaled-back concept may help speed the planning board review process, Einhorn explained.

"With only six fields, no on-site board and lodging, a much lesser need for water, and a lot less traffic, many of the objections to our former project have been alleviated. I expect the site plan review process to proceed in much easier fashion this time around. We'd like to open the facility at some time this summer," he said.