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Woodinville Fields & Carol Edwards
Loop
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Project
Overview Current Fields Proposed Field Improvements Carol Edwards Loop Get Involved! |
Woodinville Fields & Carol Edwards Loop will revitalize park and pedestrian facilities at the City of Woodinville's Civic Campus.
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The diamonds and pitch at the Civic Campus, now known as the Carol Edwards Center, are the only fields in Woodinville fully owned and controlled by the City. The existing grass fields, developed as part of the former Sorenson school facility, are used extensively for youth leagues and parks programming, but are limited by the lack of lighting, covered dugouts, drinking fountains, viewing areas, bleachers and public art amenities. Adult use is limited because of youth scheduling demands and the damaging effects of heavy play which limits scheduling so the grass fields can be revived.
The City of Woodinville has a population of 10,000 within the city limits and 30,000 within its service area. Since 2000 Woodinville Parks and Recreation has sought public comment from its citizens relative to its sports fields at the Civic Center. They responded with these suggested improvements:
 | Replace grass with artificial turf and add lighting |
| Construct a walkway surrounding the fields to add fitness activities and social benefits to the fields. Enhance the facility with public art and landscaping. |
| Increase parking capacity |
| Create better access to the Sammamish River Trail. |
According to the Woodinville City Manager, completing the Carol Edwards Center renovation, sports fields improvements and parking project within a three year period represents one of the most ambitious, visible, and visionary projects that the City will ever undertake. This is a project that is well-timed to coincide with other capital improvement projects.
Our goal with construction is to have minimal impact on sports league scheduling. Leagues will experience some field reduction for two seasons after parking and storm water construction. Once the final phase is completed in 2009, this facility will immediately service Woodinville and Woodinville West Little League, Northshore Youth Soccer Association, City Programs and adult leagues as well as City events, tournaments and tourist activities.
The existing grass fields, part of the former Sorenson Elementary School, were acquired by the City for purposes of developing a civic campus. The fields are currently used extensively for youth sport purposes, but don’t meet community needs due to the lack of lighting, covered dugouts, drinking fountains, public art, adequate parking,
viewing areas, and bleachers. Field scheduling is limited to seasonal use because grass requires rest to recover from intense use. Adult play is also impacted by scheduling restrictions and field rotation necessary to allow the grass to be revived.
After significant study of alternatives, the grass fields will be replaced with synthetic turf and lights. These two changes will greatly increase daily and annual field use capacity. Synthetic turf reduces field maintenance and eliminates the needs for irrigation, fertilizers and pesticides. Lights allow for extended night scheduling.
The proposed multi-purpose field design can be set up for baseball – two Little League diamonds with 200ft fences plus two t-ball, or two adult size softball with 300ft fences. The facility can be switched to accommodate two full-size competition soccer fields. When we reach Opening Day in April 2009, field use capacity should increase by 300% due to lighting and maintenance reductions.
Improvements are further enhanced by the surrounding Carol Edwards Loop forming a continuous level, lighted pathway around the fields. The Loop incorporates fitness elements, public art and other amenities that broaden the appeal of the site to many additional users such as seniors, fitness walkers and young families. The addition of 95 new parking spaces, a basketball court and children’s playground east of the fields further promote the site’s integration with the Carol Edwards Community Center and make this a truly multi-use and multi-generational facility.
For more information about the Woodinville Fields, please contact Woodinville Parks and Recreation at 425.489.2700 or Northwest Parks Foundation at 425.284.0420.
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