“We’re hoping to start construction this fall, so as early as November,” said Jermaine Isaac, Dayton’s division manager of sports in the recreation department.
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
The city has committed to investing about $15 million or more into Kettering Field, which is a sports complex located at 444 North Bend Boulevard in the McCook Field neighborhood.
The 94-acre site has baseball, softball and multi-purpose athletic fields.
A turf field was installed at the site in 2019 to recognize the 100-year anniversary of the NFL (Centennial Field).
A couple of years ago, the city purchased vacant land adjacent to the complex to support an expansion project. The land used to be the site of Parkside Homes, a public housing project.
Upgrades coming
According to a provisional phase 1 master plan for Kettering Field, the city is considering upgrading nine softball diamonds with LED lighting and synthetic turf surfaces and removing two diamonds.
Dayton is considering constructing four new multipurpose grass fields northeast of the softball diamonds and a new multipurpose turf field near Centennial Field.
The city also is interested in adding LED lighting, bleachers and a scoreboard at Centennial Field. The master plan calls for relocating two multipurpose grass fields.
The Dayton Daily News sent a variety of questions about the phase 1 improvements to the city. The director of recreation responded and said he cannot comment because he does not have final plans yet. The provisional phase 1 plan is dated early January.
According to the provisional plan, the city is looking at constructing six new pickleball courts and six clay tennis courts near the center of the sports complex.
The master plan calls for eliminating Brennan Drive, which is a road that cuts through a northeast section of the property that served Parkside Homes. The Dayton Plan Board earlier this month approved a request to vacate the roadway.
City documents call for hundreds of new parking spaces, new pedestrian paths, pedestrian gates, drop-off areas and vehicular access close to some amenities. It’s unclear how much if any of that work would happen in the first phase.
“There’s ample pedestrian connections proposed with that master plan,” said Tony Kroeger, planning division manager, referencing the Kettering Field plan.
According to a strategic plan and parks needs assessment that was completed for the city’s recreation department last year, Kettering Field lacks sidewalks and trails, and several features need to be removed, like the old and unused basketball courts.
The city says about 1,200 league games and 35 tournaments are played at Kettering Field during the warmer weather months, between April and October.
Credit: Staff photo by Chris Stewart
Credit: Staff photo by Chris Stewart
The city estimates that the sports complex welcomes more than 3,500 players and 90,000 spectators during the seven-month season.
Isaac, the division manager of sports, said most of the construction on the site will be on vacant land, and the city hopes to avoid disrupting sports and recreation activities that take place at complex.
The first improvement priorities include putting in new turf and enhancing lighting on diamonds in the main complex, he said.
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