Better Ball Fields in Lincoln

Councilman Tom Duden has a town hall tonight at Gere Library 56th and Normal. It starts at 6:30. My understanding is the first 20-30 minutes they will be discussing other city matters then the Councilman intends to dedicate the rest of the meeting to the ballfields situation. It’s a town hall so I believe he will listen to your comments and concerns as well as providing information.

Duden said he suggested earmarking the $50,000 after hearing the complaints and walking the fields himself, which he found to be in poor condition.

Lincoln council targets ballfields, trees, police training with proposed budget tweaks Four suggested changes totaling $450,000 were suggested by council members to the mayor’s proposed biennial budget.

I will also be attending the Lincoln City Council meeting on July 15 at 3:00 to speak on the lack of fields / condition of the fields if anyone would like to join me. I have a couple coaches coming that intend on speaking

Mark your calendars! Duden Town Hall meetings will resume Wednesday July 17th, 6:30 p.m. at the Charles Gere Library, 56th and Normal Blvd. Chad Blahak, Director of Building and Safety, will explain his role in construction and occupancy issues in Lincoln and Lancaster County. Also, I will discuss Lincoln’s Youth Baseball and the lack of field access. Hope to see you there!

The condition of the city fields made todays paper. I’ll be back complaining at the city council public comment on July 15 at 3:00 if anyone would like to appear with me.

Dear Ms. Stuckey-Ross
Director of City Parks for Lincoln

I am writing to express my concern about the poor conditions of the baseball and softball fields in Lincoln. My son plays at various fields across Lincoln as part of his 12u baseball team. One of those fields is Jensen fields. It is the broad consensus of parents and coaches that these fields are horrible. Some coaches refuse to play there. In speaking with other coaches about the poor fields, they also bring up games at Standing Bear and Peterson Park. All three fields could be fine baseball fields, with a little bit of investment, however, for decades the city has refused to spend money to upgrade these facilities.

As you likely know, there is a shortage of fields in Lincoln, therefore teams have to play at these substandard fields. While the population of Lincoln has grown, the neglect of the fields has continued. It seems odd to me that the City has master plans and/or working committees for mountain bikes trails, pickleball courts, dog runs, playgrounds, but has no plan or committee to address the substandard baseball/softball fields and the severe shortage of game playable fields. This is despite the fact that 1000’s of adults and children rely on these fields and for many is their primary utilization of the parks.

I have spent the past month asking coaches and parents on various teams about their view of the city fields and the vast majority are extremely displeased. The only fields I am aware the City has invested money in the past couple decades is Jensen Field, and it is fair to say many would rather not play a game than play there. I did exclude improvements at Sherman field, which is wonderful, however, this field will be used for the high schools and legion teams, not the youth baseball community. The population of Lincoln will continue to grow, and more kids and adults will want to play baseball and softball. The lottery for these fields is already a full day long process because there are so many teams trying to book the fields for games, so I believe the city is aware of the acute shortage.

Parks and Rec has found ways to build new pickleball courts and bike trials, both of which are great investments, however it is time to address the baseball fields. If the city is not aware of the unhappiness of the baseball community, maybe it would be worthwhile to bring folks in to see how the city can address the needs of the community, and please include the coaches of the select organizations, as they are the ones who have been pushed to the poorer fields.

Most of the people I spoke with are not asking for an expensive new multiplex, simply to upgrade the existing fields so that meaningful games can be played on them.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to your response.

Korey Reiman

I went and spoke to the city council on Monday. This is reading the tea leaves a bit but it seemed more than a couple are interested in learning more. One councilman has contacted me and was going to go look at some of the fields I suggested including Jensen, Standing Bear and Peterson.

The next city council meeting is July 8 at 3:00. If anyone would like to attend and give their thoughts let me know and we can coordinate.

Jensen Fields. I think they were silver and were lowered to bronze because of the complaints. These are the worse fields I’ve seen baseball played on. Some teams won’t play on them because they are dangerous. The outfield is similar to a cattle pasture terrain. The infield is a hard pan covered with gravel. Sliding would cause road rash. A ground ball will smack you in the nose when it hits gravel.
The city spent a lot of money on the nice back stops and dug outs. And then stopped spending there. And we have two fields that no one wants to play on, however some still do because they are the only ones available.

Woods park - bronze $13 per hour. Lincoln Parks describes bronze as “These fields are good for team practice or a pick-up game”. A home plate would be a good addition and base posts so you can actually practice.

Sawyer Snell - gold $24 an hour. What Lincoln Parks describe as their “premiere ball fields.” Everyone’s happy to play at Sawyer Snell, although they had no restroom for a couple years. It looks like they finally fixed the restrooms? The port a potty’s gone and the signs are off the restroom doors that they’re closed.

Air Park/Arkfeld - silver fields $18 per hour. If all of the silver fields were this good, it would be a step in the right direction. Although i don’t know if that’s the port a potty that someone burned down, there used to be one here. Also no batter box form, and I’d bet money the second base post is not correct.

Peterson Park fields. $18 per hour. Again could be two nice fields with a little investment, like a fence. The dugouts are bare minimum but beggars can’t be choosers.
The new pickle ball courts at Peterson Park are included. Nothing against pickle ball, happy the city has invested in the popular pastime, there was a need and the city invested in the need. However, while they have invested in pickle ball courts and bike paths, the fields have gone neglected for decades.

Standing Bear fields. $18 per hour. Games are played here. No fence. No batting box form. One port a potty. These could be two nice game fields with a little investment. This is a silver field which game and parks describes as “These fields are excellent for both games and practice.”