Beachwood administrators hope to begin a major renovation of the outdoor athletic facilities in the next few years.

According to Athletic Director Ryan Peters, this process will be carried out in phases and will need community support.

“The community has to really desire this because there is probably going to be a bond levy, which means that the Board asks for additional funds for this project,” Peters said.

“These fields were made before Title IX, when there were no girls’ sports, and before the inception of a robust middle school athletic program,” Peters said. “The need for improved facilities has been elevated.”

Superintendent Dr. Richard Markwardt said there are some repairs that the district can complete with current funding, but more funds will be needed for upgrades.

“Right now it seems [the renovation] would be primarily funded through the community and put on the ballot,” he said.

Peters hopes to see an expansive upgrade of facilities for all outdoor sports.

“I hope everyone realizes that all sports are extremely important to me and this district,” Peters said. “I want everyone to know that we are in a growth mode and are trying to improve our youth programs, but the pecking order for which fields will be renovated goes from Varsity to JV to middle school to youth.”

Peters sees the athletic facilities not only as a place to watch games, but also as a gathering place for families and community members.

It’s not just the playing conditions that should be taken into account, according to Athletic Facilities Manager Jason LeDonne. If the renovations include fencing, the school could start to charge for other events such as soccer, possibly baseball and softball as well as lacrosse.

“The outside grounds need to have improved fencing…when we sell tickets for games it’s hard to corral people…so we don’t sell tickets for a lot of sports,” LeDonne said. “We could generate revenue if we were…selling for all the soccer games and all the baseball games.”

According to LeDonne, the drainage system is one of the main issues, as poor drainage sometimes leads to the cancellation of games.

“There have been cancellations due to drainage and field concerns,” Peters said.

LeDonne also explained that the grass has no time for recovery between seasons. When football practices in the outfield in the fall, the grass gets torn up and the baseball team ends up playing in the mud in the spring.

“I am not happy with our fields because it is inexcusable that our football team and soccer teams practice in our baseball outfields,” sophomore baseball player Josh Bialosky said.

Lacrosse faces a similar situation.

“The field we play on needs to be even ground…There are ditches everywhere and random patches where no grass grows,” junior Hannah Cantlie said. “It’s easy to roll an ankle or trip in a hole that isn’t necessarily visible.”

The track is also a concern. Potholes that appear every couple of years can only be patched temporarily, according to LeDonne.

“I think it would be foolish not to [repave] the track if you’re going to turf everything outside,” he said.

“We obviously would want the Indians’ and Browns’ stadiums, but that’s not going to happen,” Peters said. “We have to decide which are the things we need, and which are the things we want. We are looking for functionality.”

The softball field is facing the wrong way. On the baseball field, the box next to the dugout is supposed to be a batter’s box, but is used for pitching.

“We provided [Marie Dowling, landscape architect from Behnke and Associates] a list of wants and needs of the programs. We recently presented a youth athletic development plan which would give us more field space,” Peters said.

“The administration has presented a possible consolidation of Bryden and Hilltop to the board, which could affect the amount of field space we have available,” he added.

Markwardt said the plans should be done by this upcoming fall.

“I am really excited for the possibility of upgrading our facilities,” Peters said. “It’s an exciting time for our students, parents, community members and staff.”

Athletic Dept. staff feel that updates will give the school a competitive advantage and a greater sense of pride.

“Lights for Friday night games could help with that,” LeDonne said. “The pageantry and everything would…be good and we [could] start building some of this Beachwood community feeling for the sports here and the school.”

Moving Towards a Plan

The information below was gathered from interviews with Superintendent Dr. Richard Markwardt and Athletic Director Ryan Peters

November 2014

An athletic facility upgrades committee was formed. It is comprised of parents who have interest in a lot of different sports, so that every outdoor sport is covered.

November-January 2015

Committee members visited many different schools such as Nordonia, Walsh Jesuit, Western Reserve, Solon, Hudson, West Geauga and Hawken.  Peters has also visited many other facilities to see what they look like. There are schools that have a field where only baseball can practice, and some where only softball can practice. Some schools have lights and turf. Peters also looked at the way parking lots should be set up, and also stadium entrances.

February 2015

The district hired Behnke and Associates as its landscape architectural firm. They have worked on Beachwood’s fields before, and they are knowledgeable about what the fields need. Small group meetings continued to further analyze the district’s wants and needs.

March 3, 2015

The last “big group” meeting was held. Marie Dowling and her associate from Behnke gave a layout of all fields. The committee found that all fields need attention. Safety, drainage and gate issues are some of the concerns.

March-May 2015

Behnke is in a master planning phase, which means they have hours of planning where they look at programs we offer now and might host in the future. They’re then looking to coordinate times and spaces and continuing to visit other schools. Dowling is sketching up a plan to meet the district’s needs.

May 2015

On May 6, the athletic facilities committee will hold its final meeting. On May 11, Marie Dowling and Behnke will present to [the Board] what they think needs to be improved the most and what is the best way to improve these things. It is all still hypothetical because it will have to be funded and will depend on the spaces available. Sketches will be made. There will be a couple different possibilities depending on the elementary facilities. After a presentation to the Board, a recommendation will be made about how to proceed.