New LMSD Middle Baseball, Softball Teams To Use Polo Fields For Play

LOWER MERION TOWNSHIP, PA — Baseball and softball teams at the new Lower Merion School District middle school will be playing and practicing on fields in the Bryn Mawr section of Haverford Township.

The district entered a tentative agreement with Lower Merion and Haverford townships to use the two fields on the Polo Field at 109 County Line Road in the Bryn Mawr.

Teams are expected to be on the fields by spring 2024 after improvement work.

The district will use about $275,000 for the improvement work, according to the township.

The work will improve community spaces and minimize neighbors’ exposure to the fields’ use, the township said.

Additional improvements may include dugouts and field grading so the fields align with to achieve PIAA competition standards.

Haverford Township will manage the scope, procurement and execution of the improvements with input from Lower Merion Township, officials said.

Ongoing maintenance of the site will be provided by the parks and recreation departments of both townships through agreements among LMSD and the townships.

Haverford Township will also take ownership of the 18-acre Polo Field site and continue to share equal use of the fields, as the two townships have done for decades, officials said.

"I want to thank Commissioners Andy Gavrin and Scott Zelov of Lower Merion and Commissioner Laura Cavender of Haverford for their collaboration and leadership on this project," Lucy Klain, President of the Lower Merion Board of School Directors, said. "All of our secondary schools have teams that must go off-site for practices and/or games. Having priority access to the Polo Field, which is close to Black Rock Middle School, will ease some of the strain on our athletes, coaches and transportation department as we endeavor to provide a full complement of athletic opportunities to all of our students."

Haverford Township Commissioner Laura Cavender said it's rare to see a situation that's "truly a win for all parties involved."

"Working together creatively, we can enable children from Black Rock to use the Polo Field each spring, while honoring both townships’ unique relationship to Polo Field and improving the park for everyone in the community," she said. "I’m pleased we were able to come together to find a solution."

Lower Merion Commissioner and Vice President Andy Gavrin said he is grateful for the cooperation with the district and Haverford Township.

“This tentative agreement among all three entities will allow for the students of Black Rock Middle School to have fields for their interscholastic sports in close proximity to the school," he said. "I look forward to continuing to work closely with the District to create a new plan for the remaining field needs at Oakwell, that could greatly reduce the impact on the existing environmental and historic features of the site."