A facelift for Lincoln Park?

Pacific University approaches Forest Grove with a proposal to renovate the city-owned park – to the tune of $8 million – and turn it into a state-of-the-art athletic complex for both the school and the public

By Zack Palmer

The Forest Grove News-Times, Nov 15, 2006, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Chase Allgood / News-Times

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Out with the old and in with the new. ¶ Pacific University ended eight years of collective foot dragging last week when it scrapped long-standing plans to develop its “Cannery Field” property and instead push forward with an ambitious proposal to level much of city-owned Lincoln Park and resurrect it as a world-class athletic complex. ¶ The plan, which was approved by the Forest Grove Recreation Commission last Wednesday and will now be heard by the City Council on Nov. 27, would drastically improve the quality of the facilities for both Pacific athletics and local youth and adult recreation leagues.

Although the proposal is still in the discussion phase and open to change, the bottom line is this – Pacific would pick up the estimated $8 million tab on an epic facelift for Lincoln Park, while the city of Forest Grove would retain ownership and enjoy public access similar to its current set-up.

Among the laundry list of improvements would be:

• The construction of an Olympic-quality, nine-lane track and field complex ringing a synthetic-surface soccer and lacrosse field.

• Bond Field, home of Pacific baseball since 1976, would be relocated and enhanced with better drainage, permanent stadium seating and a state-of-the-art press box.

• The University’s softball program would gain a college-level facility with permanent fencing, bleacher seating and a press box of its own.

The current facilities at Lincoln Park, now 30 years old, are widely panned as some of the worst in the Northwest Conference. The University’s track and field program has operated without a track of its own since the 1960s and both the baseball and softball fields lag behind those of Pacific’s peer institutions.

“One of our goals is to provide facilities comparable to the best facilities in the Northwest Conference,” said Pacific Director of Athletics Ken Schumann. “Lincoln Park was built as a recreational facility. What we’re attempting to do is keep the recreational components, but also enhance the facilities so they’re on par with the finer venues in the conference and the region.”

Pacific Sports Information Director Blake Timm, who ran track and cross country for the Boxers in the mid-90s, agreed with that assessment. “We’re in a position where we can go from worst to first in terms of our outdoor athletic facilities,” he said.

A renovated Bond Field and new venues for softball, soccer, lacrosse and track and field would be the net benefits for Pacific, but not the only improvements slated for Lincoln Park. In addition, a full-size, grass soccer field would be built adjacent to the track and field complex, a recreational softball diamond would be built at the north end of the park, and a small youth soccer field would be built at the north boundary.

The skate park and BMX park would remain intact, the walking trails would be expanded and improved, and a new picnic and playground area would also be constructed.

“This is a win-win situation for the University and the city of Forest Grove,” said Schumann. “This is a vision of what we can potentially do in partnership with the city to create venues to help our infrastructure but also provide improved and enhanced venues for the city.”

If approved by the City Council, Schumann said the University would like to break ground on the complex by Feb. 1, 2007, with the first games on the synthetic field scheduled for fall and the first games on the grass fields scheduled for the spring of 2008.

“We’re very excited. This is one of the most significant projects of its kind in the history of Washington County,” said Schumann. “This is a big step forward not only for Pacific University, but for the community of Forest Grove. The benefits will be felt throughout the community.”

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Schumann sees the Lincoln Park project as not only a way to improve the University’s athletic facilities, but also as a way to draw regional and national events to Forest Grove.

“Lincoln Park is a significant community asset,” he said. “We have the opportunity to improve and expand the park. It will not only provide much-needed field space, it’s also an economic development opportunity.”

The Pacific Athletic Center, which was constructed in 1970 and renovated in 2000, has already become a drawing point for the University. Just last weekend, in fact, Pacific hosted the OSAA 2A/1A State Volleyball Championships, and Schumann sees the future Lincoln Park Athletic Complex as a way to draw similar events.

“We have shown with Pacific Athletic Center that we can attract OSAA and other regional events,” he said. “I’m confident we can attract similar events to Lincoln Park. It will put Forest Grove on the map as a destination.

“People who come to Forest Grove for sporting events will stay here, they will eat here, they will shop here – they will spend money here and that’s good for local businesses and the community as a whole.”

According to Nick Wilson, lead developer for Atlas Landscape Architecture, the firm hired to put together the Lincoln Park proposal, the track and field complex would feature a nine-lane, 400-meter track constructed of a polyurethane-based compound that is superior to the traditional latex-based substance used in many high school- and college-level tracks.

The track would meet all qualifications to host NCAA championship events and would be one of the only nine-lane venues in the state, on par with legendary Hayward Field at the University of Oregon.

The infield section of the track complex will likely be Field Turf, the revolutionary synthetic grass surface that has rendered Astroturf obsolete and is rapidly replacing natural grass surfaces at the college and professional level across the country. The Field Turf brand is warrantied for eight years and would better withstand the wear-and-tear associated with natural grass fields, especially in the rain-soaked Pacific Northwest.

“The track surface will be comparable to what you’d find at some of the finer venues in the country,” said Schumann. “The Field Turf will allow us to play and practice on it as much as we want to. And it will also allow increased usage for other groups in the community.”

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