By Terry Boehmker
NKy Tribune sports reporter
Major League Baseball donated money for the renovation of nine area ball fields in conjunction with the 2015 MLB All-Star Game coming to Cincinnati this summer, but Meinken Field in Covington is the project getting prime exposure.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony at Meinken Field will be held July 13, one day before the nationally televised all-star game will be played at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. Representatives from Major League Baseball and the Cincinnati Reds will take part in the grand opening of the gift that they helped provide for the community.
Charley Frank, executive director of the Cincinnati Reds Community Fund, said there will be dedication ceremonies at all nine of the renovated ball fields in the area, but Meinken Field was the one scheduled the day before the all-star game when most of the MLB officials are in town.
“The fact that this one is on Monday speaks to the importance of it and the way the league and the Reds percieve it’s significance,” Frank said.
Major League Baseball and the Cincinnati Reds donated $400,000 to the Meinken Field project, according to Eric Neff. He supervised the field renovation for Covington Independent Schools, which owns the property. The upgrades included a new scoreboard and synthetic turf in both the infield and outfield.
Frank would not confirm the amount donated to the project. He said Major League Baseball and the Reds prefer not to release those figures.
“I can tell you that Major League Baseball is investing a tremendous amount of dollars in all nine of these projects,” Frank said. “Meinken is one of the most significant ones of the nine and we just toured the site (Friday) with Phil Castellini, the Reds’ COO (chief operating officer). His impression was this was going to potentially be one of the jewels of this entire series (of renovation projects).”
Major League Baseball also donated money for renovation of seven baseball fields in Cincinnati and one in Dayton, Ohio, through its All-Star Community Legacy Program. The money was allocated to “provide first-class facilities to youth and amateur players, especially those in urban and underserved areas,” according to a press release from the Reds organization.
Meinken Field had been owned and maintained by the City of Covington for more than 50 years. At one time, there were three fields on the property used for baseball and softball games. After the property was converted to a single field with outfield fences, the city allowed the baseball teams at Holmes and Holy Cross high schools to use it as their home field during the spring.
Last fall, the city sold the Meinken Field property to Covington Independent Public Schools for $28,000. That’s when Neff began looking for funds to renovate the facility with the support and cooperation of Alvin Garrison, the superintendent of Covington Independent Public Schools, and the board of education.
Neff said a total of $800,000 was raised for the renovation project with half of it coming from the MLB All-Star Community Legacy Program.
“We took a number of site visits and tours last summer trying to get a feel for what might be an appropriate project to recommend to Major League Baseball,” Frank said. “It didn’t take us too long to settle on Meinken. It’s such an historic field to begin with, and the fact that with the grass infield and 90-foot base paths it really couldn’t be utilized by kids any younger than 15.”
After the dedication ceremony, there will be a baseball clinic on Meinken Field for children participating in the Covington schools summer program. The highly durable synthetic turf will also allow Holmes High School to use it for physical education classes or as a practice site for other sports teams.
“We hope there’s just a tremendous amount of engagement there that may not have been possible before with the grass field,” Frank said.
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You might also want to see this NKyTribune story on Meinken Field.
I live near the field and have watched the transformation of the field over the last few months. Simply amazing!! I couldn’t be more impressed. What an awesome opportunity for the Covington school district and the kids that will be utilizing the field. I’m excited for my son to play baseball for Holmes on that field in the not-too-distant future.
Just a bike ride away from my home. I played so many games there on The Boys Club teams. I’m now 64. The weird bubbling up spots of the methane from the buried garbage. A neat place to access the lickin river bank. It was the premiere place to play ball in Covington! Ya felt like you were in Crosley Field when ya stepped out under those lights when ya were lucky enough to have a game scheduled in field #1…then in the mid sixties…it was all about gerls softball…i fell in love with and married one of those chicks. I live in Texas now…butt it’s nice to see baseball is alive and well in Covington.