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At the recommendation of the project team, Franklin County Commissioners are expected to ‘go to the bullpen’ and call in a new consultant to redesign the playing field for Huntington Park, the future home of the Columbus Clippers.
The original consultant recommended a “sand cap” design, which has a thinner profile that would have allowed more cover over the top of a 96-inch sewer line that runs through the site.
Many contractors shied away from bidding because of the liability concerns for the installation of a field that would not provide a guarantee of long term performance.
“We have been advised by the project team that we need to make a change for the betterment of Huntington Park,” said Board President Marilyn Brown. “The durability of this new design is worth it. We want to build the best ballpark for Franklin County residents and visitors that we can.”
Following a redesign by Millennium Sports Technologies, Inc., the contract for the installation of the playing field will re-bid.
Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy stated, “We want a playing surface that will give both players and fans a great baseball experience. We expect this surface will also be less expensive to maintain and will use less water.”
President and General Manager of the Columbus Clippers Ken Schnacke said, “Although we explored other options, in the final analysis the entire design team agreed that the field design commonly known in the industry as ‘USGA’ is indeed the best playing surface for Huntington Park. It is the surface we have currently at Cooper Stadium, and it is the surface most used in Major League and Triple-A ballparks around the country.”
The new field design is the same as what is currently installed at Cooper Stadium, current home of the Clippers, and at Columbus Crew Stadium. Prior to the installation of Prescription Athletic Turf last year in Ohio Stadium, Buckeye football was played on this same type of surface.
“We want our Columbus Clippers to benefit from high-quality construction technology,” said Commissioner Paula Brooks. “This is a cost-effective change order that everyone agrees is in the best interest of the new Huntington Park’s quality requirements. We look forward to this being a green construction and maintenance project.”
Opening Night 2008 for the Columbus Clippers is April 3rd at 7:05. This will be Cooper Stadium’s last season.
Huntington Park is scheduled to open in 2009. The project remains on-time and under-budget.
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