Wouldn't A Land Swap Make Much More Sense?

For those of you who have not been to Kleymeyer Park, it is important to understand what is currently on the land, how big the land is, and what surrounds the land.

Take a look at the aeriel photo of Kleymeyer Park here...

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=37.9965347&lon=-87.5685883&z=15&l=0&m=b

A couple of things to note from the photo....

1. If you use the ruler bar on the top right to measure the square footage of the land you will notice that the site is bigger than Roberts Stadium and its parking lot. When I measured the site, I came up with 1.4 miles for Kleymeyer Park and .8 miles for Roberts Stadium and its parking lot. When I included Swonder Ice Rink, Hartke Pool, the current baseball fields, and the Par 3 golf course, I came up with 1.2 miles for the original ball fields project.

2. There are several things on the land currently. There is Bob Walther's driving range, Bob Walther's Golf & Fun, 3 softball fields, and a EYFL field as well as a parking lot. All of these activities thrive in their area with no problems at all from the old landfill.

3. According to my research I did at Williard Library, Kleymeyer Park is approximately 108 acres.

Now that we have established the perimeters, the details, and the design of Kleymeyer Park, we can then begin to determine how we should construct our 8 softball fields that replicate vintage MLB ballparks ( Note: For those who haven't been following this blog, this is what they need to look like: http://www.bigleaguedreams.com/replica-fields ).

Obviously, it makes the most sense to construct 4 of our 8 fields on the land currently occupied by the existing 3 fields. There also is a nice pyramid building in the middle that is already established...



For the other four fields, it would make the most sense to construct them in the northeast corner of Kleymeyer Park between the driving range and Pigeon Creek. It is important to note that regardless of what happens to the driving range or the EYFL field we can fit these 8 fields with this layout.

However, this past week I was remembering some of the locations the past ECVB had for their ball fields project before the plan fell apart...

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2008/jun/04/hamilton-tees-off-course-open-again-but-still/

Don Schumacher & Associates Inc., a Cincinnati-based sports marketing,
management and consulting company, recommended converting the nine-hole Red
Course along both sides of Pigeon Creek into a recreational area. Others have
said nine holes at the golf course could be leased to the Evansville Convention
& Visitors Bureau for development of the softball and baseball complex that
the bureau tried unsuccessfully to build at Wesselman Park.

When the ECVB finally pulled their plan to place the ball fields on the Roberts Stadium site, they told the media that they were looking at 4 new locations that were all in the county. You would have to believe that Hamilton Golf Course was on the top of that list.

For years and years and years, we've been told that Evansville is backwards. If the ball fields were to be constructed at Hamilton Golf Course, this would confirm that notion as we would have a golf course on land next to a baseball field at Kleymeyer while having baseball fields on land that use to be a golf course at Hamilton Golf Course. Doesn't make any sense at all. It would fail for many reasons such as...

1. Hamilton Golf Course isn't even in the city. It is too far for the city to reap the economic benefits of the complex.
2. It would lack a theme. At the Bosse Field district, we can replicate our fields to look like vintage MLB parks but at Hamilton they would have to be dull and boring with no theme.
3. Building the fields at Hamilton would contribute to urban sprawl and would prevent us from doing an urban renewal project at the Bosse Field district.

Again, while we do not need Mr. Bob Walthers to move his driving range, it seems to me that it would make much more sense if he were to leave his Golf & Fun business at Kleymeyer and move his driving range to the area either next to or on the former Hamilton Golf Course.

What would be the benefits of this land swap?

1. Mr. Walthers gives us more land to build the ball fields. With those ball fields, we will be bringing in thousands of kids that will play putt-putt, eat pizza, play laser tag, and/or play in the arcade at his Golf & Fun business at Kleymeyer Park.

2. We can work with Mr. Walthers to expand his Golf & Fun. With our ball fields project, it would seem logical that Mr. Walthers would want to expand his Golf & Fun business to include recreational activities such as indoor basketball, batting cages, Go-Kart racing, etc,etc. Mr. Walters and the city would both win from this land swap.

3. Both Hamilton Golf Course and Kleymeyer Park are owned by a local government entity. Therefore, it would not be hard to do a land swap as no additional land would need to be acquired. Yes, there currently is a golf course at Hamilton ( http://www.thunderboltpass.com/) but if you look at the map of the golf course, you will notice that there is ample amount of land to build a new driving range for Mr. Walthers.

4. Mr. Walther's driving range would do better at Hamilton Golf Course. Unlike at Kleymeyer Park, Mr. Walthers would be right next to a golf course which is where his target market is for his driving range. Mr. Walther's driving range would do much better next to a golf course instead of a putt-putt.

5. Mr. Walthers wouldn't lose any business if any at all. How many tourists do you think come to Evansville to go to a driving range? I haven't found a single one. The majority of Mr. Walthers' target market lives in or around Evansville. If the driving range was moved to Hamilton, they would still be able to locate it as it is just down Diamond Avenue and up US 41 from the current site. This would also allow us to construct ball fields on the current site that will bring in tourists to the area.

6. Moving the driving range will allow for future expansion. If this project is a success (I'm highly confident it will be), we will want to expand to build more parks so that we have a 12, 15, 18, 24, or more complex of fields. With this land swap, we will have additional land to do this.

7. Mr. Walters will be able to get a new driving range. His driving range has been at its current location longer than I have been alive. While I am thankful that Mr. Walthers took the Kleymeyer Park land and did something nice with it, the truth is, it is probably time for a new driving range. With this land swap, Mr. Walthers will get just that.

8. We will finally have at least part of a solution for the Hamilton Golf Course land. It seems like every year, the airport is trying to figure out what to do with the Hamilton Golf Course land. With this land swap, we will be placing a successful driving range on part of the lot which can only help the success of any golf course business that opens up on the land. We will be killing two birds with one stone.

9. The land swap will allow us to display our ballparks to motorists on Diamond Avenue. Diamond Avenue is a high traffic road. Wouldn't it be nice to display replicas of Yankee Stadium, Tiger Stadium, Crosley Field, The Polo Grounds, Ebbets Field, Fenway Park, Sportsmans Park, and Wrigley Field along Diamond Avenue?

10. The land swap is affordable. Mr. Walthers wouldn't have to construct or move very much to relocate his driving range. Only a small building, some fences, some markers, and some tees would be needed to move the driving range. In turn, we wouldn't have to demolish much either to clear the site for the ball fields.

Since we are on the topic of Kleymeyer Park land swaps, we shouldn't stop there. Once more, if you look at the aerial map of Kleymeyer Park, you will notice that there is an EYFL field in the southwest corner next to First Avenue.

Many, many years ago, I played in an all-star game on that field. I will be the first to tell you that it is next to impossible to gain any traction on the field after it has rained or flooded Pigeon Creek. Unlike the driving range and the current ball fields, the EYFL field sits in a very low level plain that is right next to Pigeon Creek. As a result, each time Pigeon Creek floods, the EYFL field is the first place the water heads for.

So what can we do for EYFL?

If you drive up Diamond Avenue from Kleymeyer Park, you will notice the current North High School. Starting this fall, North High School will be moved to a new building on US 41 not too far from I-64. The future of the current building is now unknown as the original school projected to go into the building has since backed out.

One thing the current North High School has is a nice football field. Wouldn't it seem logical to let EYFL use that field instead? To me, it makes sense for the following reasons...

1. Playing at North gives EYFL a nicer field with room to grow around it.

2. Playing at North, allows us to use at least part of the current high school until a tenant is found for the building as well.

3. EYFL uses their field after school hours and on the weekends. They would not run into a conflict with a grade school if one went into the current North High School.

4. North's field is on much higher ground. Therefore, flooding will not be a problem. This will make the game safer for the players as well.

5. Both fields are run by local government departments. Just like the driving range, no new land would need to be acquired.

6. With the current EYFL field, we can expand our parking lot at Kleymeyer Park or build a new turn lane to handle the excessive flow of traffic.

7. There wouldn't be much for EYFL to move. To replicate their current field, all they would need to do is construct a small concession stand building.

8. We can use the EYFL field as a gateway to a canoe center. While the ball fields have games going on, other kids will want activities to do. Why not let Canoe Evansville build a new canoe dock next to the EYFL field?

9. It's time for a new field. Like I said earlier, the current EYFL field has seen better days. Why not allow this organization to utilize the current North High School field?

10. EYFL stays in the area. The current EYFL field and the current North High School field are only a handful of blocks apart. In fact, they are only separated by Diamond Avenue. This will allow EYFL to continue to serve the north side of Evansville.

While it does not need to happen for us to construct the ball fields at Kleymeyer Park, it is my opinion that two simple land swaps would allow us solve many more problems in the Evansville area while helping more organizations at the same time.

A few posts ago, I talked about the fact this project is at the top of the Cause & Effect model. This project will have an impact on our entire community. We have the opportunity to...

1. Help Hamilton Golf Course
2. Help the current North High School building
3. Help EYFL
4. Help Bob Walthers
5. Help the Bosse Field District
6. Help Roberts Stadium
7. Help North Main Street finally connect to downtown Main Street
8. Help Wesselman Park grow around Roberts Stadium
9. Help increase the Innkeepers Tax revenue
10. Help the Parks Dept clean up a current park
11. Help the new arena with parking
12. Help the Evansville Otters find more revenue

No matter, which course we take, this project will have a lasting effect on Evansville for a lifetime. Instead of placing these fields that require the demolition of historic Roberts Stadium or out on a golf course miles away from Evansville, let's do the right thing and build them at Kleymeyer Park.

Everyone will win!

(attainable-utopias.org)