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A living memorial to the Ol' Lefthander will take its first breath of life by the opening of youth baseball in Spring of 2009.

Earlier this month, the old Waterworks Park concession area was demolished to make way for the Nuxhall Pavilion, a $500,000 project that features an upgraded concession and storage facility and a statue paying homage to Joe Nuxhall, a former Cincinnati Reds pitcher and radio announcer.

Fairfield Parks and Recreation Director Jim Bell said the project at 5133 Groh Lane in Fairfield is scheduled to be under way by the end of the year and is expected to be finished by the second week of March.

"The baseball organization has been there since the '50s and the facility just never kept up with the times," Bell said. "The building was antiquated."

As youth baseball continues to grow, that facility needed to grow, he said.

"The facility was built when Fairfield was 10,000 people and the concession just never kept up," said Bell. The city is projected to have more than 42,800 people, according to city officials.

"When I think of the whole project, it's going to be a beautiful tie in," said Kim Nuxhall, executive director of the Joe Nuxhall Character Education Fund and son of the late radio announcer. "It's where I grew up, it's where dad would come down whenever he could and watch ball games."

A statue featuring Nuxhall will be the marquee piece to the pavilion. The Reds Hall of Fame pitcher is posed working with two children wearing Reds Rookie Success League shirts.

Nuxhall, a finalist for the Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in baseball broadcasting, cared more about his backyard than national awards and accolades, the younger Nuxhall said.

"Hometown things meant more than anything," Nuxhall said. "He would be extremely touched and heart-warmed that this pavilion is going to serve kids for many years to come."

But of course, Nuxhall said, his dad would be embarrassed of the pomp and circumstance, though.

"As always, 'Why me?'" Nuxhall said his dad had said. "He never viewed himself like others viewed him."

Artist Tom Tsuchiya, who sculpted the Nuxhall statue at Great American Ball Park, said he is about two weeks from having the statue ready for the mold. Because of the delay in the pavilion project (Bell said there were higher than expected bids), the statue was put on hold.

"It gave me a chance to look at it with a fresh eye and I was able to make some modifications to the design which I think helped it a lot," Tsuchiya said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5112 or mpitman@coxohio.com.