Designing Fields of Dreams

Build it, and they will come. When the City of Hagerstown purchased the old Washington County Fairgrounds in 1996, it envisioned an intense athletic complex as well as an urban recreational park that would appeal to a wide range of athletes and neighborhood residents. Working with KCI Technologies, the City sponsored community workshops in early 1998, which gave citizens a chance to discuss ideas and to prioritize a list of potential uses for the land. KCI planners and landscape architects used the list to develop conceptual designs for a combination of facilities, supporting softball, soccer, in-line skating and hockey, as well as bicycle motocross (BMX).

A Creative Partnership—The exchange of ideas among community and civic leaders shaped a final plan that respects the needs and values of the community. According to KCI project manager Nick Linehan, “The City wanted to create a state-of-the-art sports complex with a ‘neighborhood park’ atmosphere. So we designed plans for some nontraditional sporting venues, like the BMX and in-line skating, and then incorporated pedestrian access and biking trails to enhance the feel of an old fashioned gathering place.”

The final plan retains the old gatehouse and features traditional stone building materials to reflect the site’s historic character. Modern amenities include built-in bleachers and a central pavilion located among three softball fields and a soccer field. The facility will house a concession stand, scoring box, restrooms, and maintenance facilities. A smaller remote shelter and picnic area is planned near an adjacent soccer field. Visitors to the complex will find parking spaces for more than 600 vehicles.

Environmental Responsibility—To help minimize environmental impacts associated with construction, KCI designed plans for a two-tiered stormwater management pond, located near the park’s entrance. “We had to blast through limestone bedrock to create the pond,” Linehan recalled, “so we used the large boulders from the excavation as part of the landscape design. Visitors also will be able to walk along a trail bordering the pond and see native plants representative of the area’s agricultural and forested lands. We plan to post descriptions of the plantings to help people learn about wetlands and the local environment.”

The Home Stretch—With current construction on schedule and within budget, the City is setting its sights on a long-range plan to renovate the old grandstand to accommodate gymnastic and basketball facilities and, perhaps, a restaurant. “The City has a great vision,” Linehan said, “and the community backs the plan—it’s a WIN-WIN situation, even for KCI. We’ve got a project that pulled in the technical expertise of our land planners, environmental scientists, landscape architects, and engineers from a host of disciplines—traffic, water resources, mechanical & electrical, site, geotechnical, and civil. It’s been a lot of fun to work as a team on a project that will bring joy to people for years to come. You just can’t beat that.”



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