Sycamore High School’s softball field, a site of frequent flooding, could move to park district grounds

SYCAMORE – Sycamore High School’s softball field, the site of frequent flooding, could be renovated or moved to Sycamore Park District grounds, a query under school board consideration.

Sycamore Community School District 427′s board is considering the pros and cons of renovating the district’s softball field or upgrading a field on Sycamore Park District grounds for the team’s use.

The current softball field becomes unplayable during late winter and early spring because runoff water trickling toward the Kishwaukee River, saturating the field and space around it, said Mark Ekstrom, director of buildings and grounds.

“It’s pretty realistic to think we won’t get out there until the 10th day of April, eighth day of April, and we start February, the last week of February,” Jill Carpenter, Sycamore High School’s head softball coach, said during a recent Sycamore school board meeting.

When Sycamore High School’s softball field is inundated with water, the team plays games on a field at the Sycamore Park District. However, the softball team doesn’t have first rights to the field, officials said.

Ekstrom said over the past four years Chauncey Carrick, Sycamore’s High School’s director of activities and athletics, Carpenter and parents of student athletes have all approached him asking what can be done about the soggy softball field.

The issue of the waterlogged softball field isn’t a year-round problem, Ekstrom said, but floods occur most often when the team needs the field the most.

“These fields are amazing fields again in June, July, August, September, October. [They’re] beautiful fields when it’s dry,” Ekstrom said. “We do not play softball in those time frames.”

Ekstrom also said the floors of the dugouts are collapsing. He said tuckpointing – the process of removing old bricks from a foundation and replacing them with similarly fitting mortar – needs to be done.

“We have to rebuild because these things are sinking,” Ekstrom said.

An engineering firm, Ekstrom said, estimated it would cost $558,850 to restore the current field to a condition that would allow it to be used during spring – the softball season. The firm’s estimate included $300,000 to raise the field out of the flood plain and $70,000 to rebuild the two dugouts with secure footings.

Ekstrom said the field’s drainage ditch would still need to be dredged every three years at an estimated cost of $15,000, and the $558,850 does not include a parking lot for an area Ekstrom said currently has no parking.

The other option is to steer clear of the floodplain and officially move Sycamore High School’s home softball field to the Sycamore Park District.

The same engineering firm estimated the cost of renovating a field in the Sycamore Park District would be $561,990. That cost would include berm seating in the outfield, stadium seating around the infield, bullpens and a press box, but Ekstrom said those expenditures wouldn’t necessarily have to happen.

School board member Eric Jones said he’s “much more comfortable” with spending in the area of $250,000 than he is with more than $500,000. Eliminating the stadium seating (estimated to cost $120,000) and the prefabricated elevated press box (estimated at $100,000) would bring the project within $30,000 of Jones’ prefered price point.

“I think some of those other options, unless you convince me that there’s significant cost savings to doing them now, while they would be nice, I don’t think that’s responsible,” Jones said.

Ekstrom said he thinks Carpenter has done well in soliciting support for field changes.

“She’s got the money coming in to help us pay for some of this,” Ekstrom said. “Now of course it’s not all of it, but she does have some donors that really want to help move the softball field and give these girls a playing surface that is acceptable, that they deserve. You know we have a state winning softball team.”

Carpenter told the school board about $53,000 already has been raised for whatever is decided to be done with the softball field.

“I do not have a set number, but I have had people tell me, ‘We’ll give money once you tell me we’re moving to the park,’ ” Carpenter said. “I’m not putting any money into the high school venue.”

Carpenter said donors told her they think putting money back into the current softball field is wasted money.

“But I do have a couple other donors that were like, ‘Let us know what you need,’ ” Carpenter said. “Does that mean they’re going to whip out $100,000? I’m not anticipating that, but I do think it could be a somewhat significant amount of money in the realm of fundraising.”

School board member Steve Nelson said he was in favor of moving forward with a field at the Sycamore Park District. He said even with rough numbers it would cost around half a million dollars to upgrade either site, but the park district site has a better chance of a long term successful project.

“I do see this as a huge equity issue and we have to do something irregardless,” Nelson said.

Ekstrom said the Sycamore Park District was not looking to spend money on the project, despite the field being on park district grounds.

“I do find it a little off putting that the park district doesn’t want to kick in any money,” Nelson said.

The school board told Superintendent Steve Wilder they approve of moving the field to park district grounds, so long as there’s an understanding the cost would be capped at $250,000, the Sycamore Park District would be contacted for more input and Sycamore Sports Boosters would fundraise for the project.

Carpenter told the school board a dozen softballs cost $90 dollars and, even with an extended backstop provided by the Sycamore Sports Boosters, six or seven balls are lost to the mud and water surrounding the field every game.

“So it does add up,” Carpenter said. “It’s just hard being surrounded by that much water.”