The Friends of Doubleday have assembled a team whose line-up includes some of the big hitters in the world of stadium design, construction, marketing and fundraising.

Their collective resumes include involvement in a list of major and minor league ball parks that span the country and leave no doubt as to their qualifications. But the chance to work on a national baseball landmark like Doubleday Field was enough to bring them together Friday morning to inspect the field as they prepare plans for a renovation.

"When the opportunity came along to work on this classic I couldn't pass it up," said Thomas Chema of Gateway Consultants Group who helped put together the package for the Cleveland's Jacobs Field.

Architect Earl Santee, of HOK Sport in Kansas City, Mo., said he and his son were in Cooperstown for George Brett's induction in 1999 and that the field is great place to watch a baseball game. "I really think people get a sense of the history of baseball. There's nothing like it. We plan to preserve the legacy of Doubleday Field. If this was some 3,500 seat stadium, we won't be here. The point of it is, we're huge baseball fans."

Thom Lach, Executive Director of the not-for-profit Friends of Doubleday setup the Friday morning meeting with Doubleday Field committee chairman Stu Taugher and other members of the board of trustees to talk about the renovations the group is proposing for the field.

Head groundskeeper Joe Harris led them on a tour of the field from top to bottom, including the bowels of the field under the grandstand where Willow Brook flows through on its way to Otsego Lake.

Preliminary plans for the renovation have been discussed with the trustees on numerous occasions and include laying personalized paving bricks in an apron around the entrance to the grandstand. The sale of those personalized pavers is the foundation of the fundraising plan. The Friends have told village officials they believe it is possible to raise enough money to not only pay for renovations, but also create an endowment fund to help insure the field's future.

Chema, who will put together the financial package was reluctant to discuss a target amount before the preliminary engineering work and cost estimates are completed. "The only thing you know about giving a number now is that it will be wrong," he said. The Friends originally discussed raising an amount in the neighborhood of $5 million.

Trustees made it clear that commercialization of the field is unacceptable, but Chema said that would not preclude corporate sponsorships. Corporations, he said, may find it attractive to be able to use their involvement in the project in their advertising campaigns as is already done in some instances by companies providing goods or services for the field.

He also sees it as a chance to draw Major League Baseball and the players into the project through contributions.

Curt Steiner, of HMS Success in Columbus, Ohio, will handle the public relations for the Friends. The key, he said, will be to raise awareness of the paver program and to reach the audience that will be interested. He and Chema said they would like to put together some kind of televised, national event, but nothing has been finalized. "This is still a work in progress," Chema said.

Joseph Spear, who will be working with Santee on the design aspects of the project said that the preliminary sketches prepared by the Friends of Doubleday illustrated some great ideas and that they were off to a "really good start."

After having a chance to inspect the grandstand and field Spear said he believed there was "a lot more that's right than wrong."

The group took the time to walk Main and Chestnut Streets to determine how much of the field can be seen from different vantage points and how it did or didn't blend in with the surrounding architecture.

As the group was about to split up and head back to their offices across the country, they spoke about a timetable for the project and Chema remarked that he thought it would possibly to have it completed in 18 months.

Once some preliminary work is out of the way and initial cost estimates are formulated, Chema said he would like to schedule a session to allow the public a chance to offer input and suggestions.

"It helps us get buy-in from the public and we almost always get goods ideas. There's always something we didn't think of," he said.