School district says Fairmount redesign increases usable athletic space by 73%

A school district representative walked council and residents through iterations of field layouts intended to improve playability and create at least one full-size middle-school soccer field and a middle-school softball field. The district said the existing arrangement of four small ball fields limits concurrent use and that a redesigned configuration can provide more functional, irrigated and well-drained grass playing surfaces.

The district included a calculated figure: "This total amount of space, of usable athletic space is a 191,600 square feet," a staff member said, and added that the reconfiguration represents about a 73% increase in usable athletic space compared with the current layout. Officials said some smaller infields would be removed but replaced by a central field and additional flexible grass areas that can be subdivided for youth soccer.

District and city staff said cost estimates and specific funding allocations remain to be negotiated under a shared-services agreement; they also noted the library will cover demolition of a now-vacant preschool building as part of its scope, which the district views as a budgetary saving relative to temporary relocations.