Politics & Government

Cleveland Heights to Build New Field and Renovate Denison Park

New artificial turf field and picnic area to open by summer

Denison Park is getting a makeover.

The City of Cleveland Heights will start building a new artificial turf field in once the weather improves, and it will open by the end of July. 

Council approved the new field in the Spring of 2010, said Susanna Niermann O’Neil, director of the community services department at Cleveland Heights, at a meeting on Jan. 11. The city hired Behnke Associates, a landscape and architecture consulting firm based in Cleveland, and after reviewing bids, chose Marous Brothers Construction to build the field.

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, the city also authorized Behnke Associates to manage the renovation of the old Denison Pool. The plans include removing the pool, which closed a few years ago because of low attendance, and building additional shelters and picnic areas, according to a council document. The city will fix up the bathrooms, add native plants and green space, and make the area “usable,” said Councilwoman Bonita Caplan.

O’Neil said they are also adding about 30 trees and “more of a path sense,” at the Jan. 11 meeting. The city provided more details to the public, and especially to soccer players of all ages, about the field at a packed meeting at the Community Center Jan. 11.

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The city had a pre-construction meeting the week of Jan. 31 to discuss the construction timeline and other details, and the ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for the end of July, O’Neil said.

The project will cost about $655,000, and will include two vehicles to maintain the field and pick up litter. The project will be paid for with money from Issue 27 that was passed in 2004, not the general fund, she said. The cost of renovations to the old Denison Pool also will come from the Issue 27 fund, which is used only for recreation upgrades and maintenance.

“We can do this because our community voted in this issue,” O’Neil said at the Jan. 11 meeting about the new field. “This is a project that we have wanted to happen … for years. And in 2011, it’s coming true.”

The city originally hoped to build the field last year, but the project required a stormwater management plan, as Nine Mile Creek runs along Denison, O’Neil said.

The old field was dedicated in September 1999 and made of natural grass. The new field will be made out of "high-end" artificial turf, which was selected primarily for its safety even though it cost a little more, O’Neil said.

The turf will be sewed at the seam, not glued, and can handle more weight per square foot. A sample was passed around for people to touch at the Jan. 11 meeting. 

Sean Sullivan, head soccer coach for the boys' varsity soccer team at Heights High, director of the Heights United Soccer Academy and the director of coaching for the Eastside Kickers, spoke about the importance of having a new field at the meeting.

“There have been too many days that games or practices have been canceled due to poor field conditions, for not having a safe place for the kids and families to go when the weather takes a turn for the worst,” said Sullivan, who graduated from Cleveland Heights High in 1988 and also talked about why he loves the city and chooses to live in Cleveland Heights. 

In addition to the field, the city is also getting bids for a new sound system and talking to the teams about the types of benches available that will also be installed, O’Neil said. 


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