Submitted photo Jensen Builders Ltd. employees Jason Auten and Claude Brown work on the newly-installed concrete floor at the Fort Dodge Baseball’s Association’s ‘Bat Cave’ recently.

Jensen Builders Ltd., Fort Dodge, recently donated materials and labor to cover the 5,000-plus square foot floor of the Fort Dodge Baseball Association’s new ”Bat Cave” facility.

”Our association can’t thank Dale Jensen and Jensen Builders enough for their generous donation,” FDBA president Nick Pederson said. ”A donation of this size will have a major impact on players for the 2017 season, and for many seasons to come.

”This donation of time and money comes at a very important crossroads for our association. It keeps our momentum going not just this winter, but also, into the forseeable future.”

The agreement to install the new concrete floor was made after Jensen — the company’s president — met with Pederson and FDBA treasurer Mike Cordle, a Jensen Builders employee.

”Dale offered his thoughts on the potential of the building, but he also gave us options on what (his company) could do for a donation,” Pederson said. ”When he told us his idea (of taking care of the floor with donated materials and labor), I was speechless.

”They literally gave us a foundation to build on.”

In addition to Jensen’s recent contributions, the FDBA has also worked to advance the timeline of the ”Bat Cave” re-opening thanks to the efforts of Mechanico LLC (labor and material for doors); Superior Siding (gutters and downspouts); Iowa Fire Control (key FOB installation and system); and Butterfield & Associates (materials and labor of roof coating and ceiling insulation).

Don Decker, owner of Decker Truck Line, Inc., donated the new building to the FDBA earlier this fall. The original ”Bat Cave,” which was destroyed by a fire last January at its Central Ave. location, moved to 3544 5th Ave. S.

The ”Bat Cave” was founded in 2005, and has served as an indoor training ground for thousands of area baseball players and their families. Pederson said last January that approximately 200 students age 6-18 were actively using the complex before the fire forced its doors to close.

The FDBA is in the process of raising $90,000 to renovate its new home. Pederson confirmed earlier this fall that one-third of the total amount needed — $30,000 — was set aside by the FDBA itself to get the project started.

Fundraising efforts are being handled through the website located at fdba.myonlinecamp.com, and via pamphlets available through the FDBA or on-line at www.fdbaseball.com.

For questions or more information on the project, please contact Pederson at nick.pederson@hotmail.com.