Lakewood Baseball Field Upgrades: School District Seeks Bidders

LAKEWOOD, OH — The "Lakewood Lip" will soon be no more. The Lakewood Schools are looking for bids to handle the renovation of Foxx and Usher fields.

Foxx Field is in Kauffman Park on Detroit Avenue, while Usher Field is in Madison Park on Madison Avenue. The school district recently struck a formal agreement with the city of Lakewood for the upkeep of the fields.

The Lakewood Lip was the unfortunate result of the two sides — the schools and the city — never fully understanding who held which responsibility for field maintenance. The dirt diamond was cared for by one side, the outfield grass another. Crews would rake the dirt to the edge of the grass and then...leave it there, making a lip that could ricochet balls into the air, hurting players.

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Patch spoke with parents about the poor quality of the city's fields in June 2021. Community groups were launching GoFundMe accounts to raise money to fix the fields themselves, while families pressured their councilpersons to do something, anything to make the field safer.

The city and the schools heard the cries, striking a new, formal, written agreement for field maintenance in September. Both Foxx and Usher fields should be upgraded prior to the 2022 season.

To that end, the Lakewood Schools officially issued an open call for bids to handle the renovation of both fields. Interested applicants can participate in a pre-bid walk through on Tuesday at 11 a.m. at Foxx Field.

Additional information on how to bid for the renovations can be found on the district's website.