Riverside soccer field remake well underway | Local News
The remake of Defiance’s Riverside Park football fields is in full swing.
You literally get a facelift as the uneven fields are classified, new drainage installed, and new goals achieved. The work is expected to be completed this year.
Defiance City Council approved a $ 100,148 contract in November to work with B. Hill’z Excavating, a Wood County, Wayne City company.
The construction workers move tons of debris around to make up for the park’s soccer fields, which will be seven – an increase of one – when all is said and done. This week, large pieces of equipment were busy at the construction site, working amid piles of dirt that had accumulated during the reclassification.
The new drainage doesn’t prevent the fields from being flooded when the Auglaize River leaves its banks – the park is in a flood plain – but it does help drain the fields in more typical weather.
“It’s going to be a beautiful place,” said Rob Cereghin, the city’s service director. “It’ll be a beautiful area when you’re done.”
The Defiance Soccer Association (DSA), which makes heavy use of the fields for the spring and summer seasons, raised more than half ($ 55,000) of the funds required to cover construction costs ($ 100,148), with the remainder being funded by the city’s budget.
The project will take several years of planning and fundraising, according to Mike Adams, former president of the DSA and current board member.
“This is kind of the culmination of the Defiance Soccer Association’s five-year effort to work with the city to completely renovate all of the fields on Riverside,” said Adams, calling the project a community effort. “We’ve talked about this for years and we can finally make it this year. We are super excited. “
During a recent City Parks Board meeting, Adams credited Tony Black for his fundraising efforts and said, “He made it relatively easy.”
According to Adams, the DSA, Matt Joost of Remax Realty, the Zach and Tiffany Steece families, Coit and Dr. Karen Black, Knipp Law, Mayor Mike McCann, and the Defiance Community Cultural Council “major donors” to the project. coordinated private donations. “
According to Adams, DSA serves adolescents ages six to 15 during the spring and fall.
While the project disrupts DSA’s spring season in the park, the fall season is an option if weather conditions interact and new grass is properly established.
“We’re not sure yet,” said Adams. “We are hopeful. It really depends on mother nature. “
The spring season will take place at various locations such as Diehl and Veterans Memorial Parks and Defiance High School, while exercises can take place at the former junior high school on Arabella Street and Wayne Avenue.
Once the new riverside fields are ready, Adams believes they would provide the caliber of fields that could be used for area tournaments.
“This will really bring Defiance up to par with many metropolitan areas,” he said.