NEWS ARTICLE from The Morning Journal, 11-21-07, by JOHN DEIKE, Morning Journal Writer
[Baseball Stadium Progress]
``AVON -- ... Mayor Jim Smith ... is hustling to provide his city with multiple recreation opportunities ... Smith, Planning Coordinator Jim Piazza and two groups of architects will soon be driving to Dayton and Florence, Ky., in order to look at ball parks comparable to the one they want to build in Avon, Smith said ...
The stadium will cost between $8 and $9.5 million, it will have a bowl shape and hold about 5,000 people, and instead of grass, artificial turf will be used, Smith said ...
Since the $13.5 million recreation center will lie adjacent to the stadium, the two projects will be built in conjunction with each other, right off Interstate 90, Smith said.
Within the next two weeks, Smith will choose an architect for the recreation center which he wants to have two swimming pools and fully equipped exercise areas, he said.
One pool will be used for competitive swimming for the local schools, and one of the exercise rooms will overlook the third base line of the baseball field, Smith said.
In terms of the budget, the Cleveland YMCA will pay for $5.5 million of the construction costs and assume the operating costs, and the city will pay for the other $8 million with the money generated from the new 0.25 percent income tax, Smith said.
As for the baseball field, the incoming owners of the minor league team will cover 40 percent with the rest coming new income tax paying for the construction costs, and the owners will pay for the yearly maintenance of the field, he said. The baseball field will be used by the minor league team, residents and recreation baseball teams, Smith added.
''This multi-million dollar project will act as an economic driver for the city since hotels have shown interest in building near the planned construction site, and since developers have shown interest in building two hockey rinks in the area,'' Smith said.''
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NEWS ARTICLE from The Chronicle-Telegram, 12-28-07, by Lisa Roberson
[Stadium Architects Chosen]
``AVON -- The minor league baseball stadium the city plans to build will offer intimate seating for 3,500 and many amenities that will make it stand out in the community, according to the architect team slated to design the ballpark.
Christopher Wynn, director of design at Cleveland-based Osborn Architects and Engineers, said the project -- which could cost as much as $9 million -- will have family-friendly amenities while still drawing on the design concepts of turn-of-the-century ballparks. It will be similar in size and capacity to Champion Window Field in Florence, Ky., home of the Frontier League's Florence Freedom.
The best feature of the ballpark by far will be the seating, Wynn said. "The whole beauty of minor league baseball is that no stadium is built with those nosebleed kinds of seats," he said. "All the seats will be excellent, very intimate."
Avon Mayor Jim Smith said Osborn and RWL Architects, another architecture firm, will team up on the design concept and engineering of the stadium. Contracts will be inked soon to formalize the decision, but both companies have committed to the project ...
The stadium, along with a YMCA recreation center, will anchor a 122-acre recreation complex at Interstate 90 and state Route 611 that could eventually feature a Lorain County Metro Parks water park, ice hockey and skating rink, indoor soccer facility, tennis courts and youth football and soccer fields.
City residents are footing the bill with a voter-approved 0.25 percentage point income tax increase that will raise $1.2 million a year over the next three decades to build the $14.2 million YMCA center and city-owned stadium.
In describing the stadium, Wynn said fans will enter on a main concourse level that will allow patrons to walk down toward the field. For ballgames, the seating capacity with be about 3,500 and as high as 5,000 for special events.
The design includes a press box, 11 suites with movable walls, two team clubhouses, restrooms, picnic areas, a kids" fun zone and parking for 1,200 to 1,300 cars. A grass berm along the outfield edge will allow families to spread out a blanket for the children as they watch a game.
And, while traditional ballpark food like hot dogs and Cracker Jacks will be staples, Wynn said the design team may add a restaurant near right field that will offer more substantial cuisine. The restaurant would be independent of the stadium but overlook the field.
Lastly, the lighting will not only illuminate night games, but it will also serve as a beacon welcoming visitors to the city ...''
Contact Lisa Roberson at lroberson@chroniclet.com.
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NEWS ARTICLE from The Chronicle-Telegram, 4-14-08, by Jason Hawk
``Avon ballpark to open in June 2009
AVON -- The sun is shining, the grass is green and the Tribe is playing again. It's baseball season in Northeast Ohio.
But if you want to root, root, root for the minor league home team, it's going to be another year. Avon Mayor Jim Smith said he wants to break ground sometime next month [5-08] on a 5,000-seat baseball stadium at the corner of Interstate 90 and state Route 611. The ballpark will open the first week of June 2009 and will be home to a brand-new Frontier League expansion team.
It's not all about hot dogs and home runs, however. Smith said the field and a new YMCA next door will be a safe place for teens to hang out and will also pump a lot of cash into the local economy ...
Avon might have been able to swing the cost of its own recreation center, Smith said, but partnering with the YMCA of Greater Cleveland and the Frontier League will give about 295,000 people in a 10- or 15-mile radius a perfect place to exercise and have fun.
Smith said he expects about 2 million people a year to visit the stadium, driving up local tourism and bringing a host of new businesses to the Interstate 90 corridor, including a hotel, restaurants and offices. There will be plenty for adults to do, too, including a party patio with beer and concessions, loges and tie-ins with local company fitness plans.
Smith said the stadium will be a lot easier to build than an office building or Avon's police department, so it won't take nearly as long to finish. The YMCA, meanwhile, should be complete by December 2009, he said.
Terri Manns, vice president of fund development for the Cleveland YMCA, said her organization needs about $5.2 million to build the new athletic facility, which will include a traditional gym, hockey rink and swimming pool.
A big part of that will come from a 0.25-percent income tax increase passed by Avon voters in November [2007]. The tax will raise $1.2 million a year over the next 30 years to build the $6 million to $9 million stadium and the $14.2 million YMCA.
In the past few months, officials have decided to call the site the French Creek YMCA in Avon, Manns said.
Once finished, the facility will create about 85 new jobs, YMCA of Greater Cleveland President Glenn Haley said. "The ramifications for the economy of the entire county are tremendous," he said ...
Manns said her organization pumped $8.6 million into the regional economy when building the Lakewood YMCA in 2005 and 2006. The site pays out $1.1 million a year in wages and generates $300,000 in federal, state and local tax revenue ...
The YMCA of Greater Cleveland doesn't have any link to the old Lorain or Elyria YMCAs, Manns said. The groups were separate nonprofits run by different management. For information about donating to the new YMCA project, call (216) 263-6844 or e-mail tmanns@clevelandymca.org
Smith said the Frontier League is locked into the new stadium deal, but there's always a 5 percent chance that the deal will fall through. Lorain officials fell into that 5 percent gap when the league decided not to put a team at the brand-new Pipe Yard. "That's not going to happen here," Smith said.''
Contact Jason Hawk at 329-7148 or jhawk@chroniclet.com.
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NEWS ARTICLE from The Morning Journal, 4-29-08, by The Morning Journal Staff
[Work continues on Avon recreation center]
``AVON -- Construction of a new Avon YMCA recreation center and minor league baseball park can soon begin following the passage last night [4-28-08] by City Council of an ordinance for the excavation of new land acquired at the site.
The site at SR 611 and Interstate 90 has already been cleared and is preparing for the ''the first shovel of dirt,'' in construction of the facility, according to Avon Engineer Michael Bramhall. The ball park is scheduled to host games as soon as June of 2009.
Avon Mayor Jim Smith said council passed the measure unanimously. Now the city will seek quotes for grading the recently-acquired land, which measures about 20 acres. ''It has to be graded to meet Environmental Protection Agency requirements,'' Smith said. The grading should cost about $60,000, he said.
Avon passed a 0.25 percent income tax in November [2007] to fund a ballpark and recreation center, which is set to include two swimming pools. Some of the costs for the recreation center will be covered by the YMCA of Greater Cleveland ...
Bramhall said that when the site was cleared, the city discovered that the land drains rapidly to a nearby runoff ditch. The excavation will move the soil and control the sediment runoff.
''It's preparing the land for development,'' Bramhall said. The project is starting to get underway and will be ''going out to bid within 30 days,'' said Bramhall.''
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