Softball, baseball facilities getting facelift

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

Lincolnview’s softball and baseball programs have played at a high level in recent years, earning NWC championships and competing at regionals and for state titles. Now, the facilities where they play will be getting some upgrades to match the high level of play.

At a special meeting held on Wednesday, the Lincolnview Local Schools Board of Education approved a pair of resolutions related to sprucing up those facilities at a cost not to exceed $900,000, with a $90,000 contingency fund if needed. The money will come from the district’s capital projects fund.

Prior to approving the resolutions, the board heard a brief presentation from Prodigy Solutions Development Director Eric Gros. The firm has offices in the Cincinnati area, Columbus and Cleveland and handles K-12 projects throughout the state.

He explained that both softball dugouts will be demolished and replaced with new ones. Given that the current dugouts have been prone to flooding, the new ones will be constructed about two inches higher than field level. The current home baseball dugout will be renovated and improved and both the softball and baseball facilities will have new backstops and extended safety netting. 

While the 2027 spring sports season is months away, Gros also said work will begin sooner rather than later.

“We’ll get everything moving because we want to get all this work done – I want all the concrete work done long before we get into cold weather,” he explained. “You want to be ready for the season and we know the weather is fickle enough in the spring that we cannot rely on doing any flat work of any size in the spring when we have deadlines for softball and baseball.”

The vote to approve the upgrades was 4-0. Board member Ashley Breese was absent from the meeting.