The real problem, aside from poor maintenace and a lack of knowledge in terms of how to maintain the field, is that the field was built on an old landfill. I mean a very old landfill. Because they didn't have the technology back then in terms of compaction and waste management, the ground shifts as the garbage underneath continues to erode. The more you move the dirt and soil on top, the more the stuff underneath shifts. Hence the huge drops and crests most evident in the outfield. A real overhaul would be extremely expensive. Now, that said, there is no excuse for the poor quality of the grass, the large "lips" around the infield nor the lack of solid footing in the batter's boxes and on the mound. All easily fixed, all easily maintained. It just takes time and a few bucks (not that much believe me). I'll credit Denny Bowman for getting it up to par when he was Rec. Director, but now as Mayor, he needs to get somebody's attention and fix what could be a huge asset to the high schools and the community. It doesn't take money to be diligent about who is using it and how, and that's the FIRST thing they need to do.

The real problem, aside from poor maintenance and a lack of knowledge in terms of how to maintain the field, is that the field was built on an old landfill. I mean a very old landfill. Because they didn't have the technology back then in terms of compaction and waste management, the ground shifts as the garbage underneath continues to erode. The more you move the dirt and soil on top, the more the stuff underneath shifts. Hence the huge drops and crests most evident in the outfield. A real overhaul would be extremely expensive. Now, that said, there is no excuse for the poor quality of the grass, the large "lips" around the infield nor the lack of solid footing in the batter's boxes and on the mound. All easily fixed, all easily maintained. It just takes time and a few bucks (not that much believe me). I'll credit Denny Bowman for getting it up to par when he was Rec. Director, but now as Mayor, he needs to get somebody's attention and fix what could be a huge asset to the high schools and the community. It doesn't take money to be diligent about who is using it and how, and that's the FIRST thing they need to do.

 

The bold is quite true.

 

Covington had a beautiful baseball park but it was sold to make room for the Interstate and the Brent Spence Bridge and from what I was told, Covington received a nice chunk of money for the park from the Feds. Now the real question is why with the money that the City received, why build a baseball complex (and that is what it was back years ago) on a dump and then not take care of the complex. Where did the money go? I mean the City owned the dump already!

 

BTW even back in my days of playing Knotehole and summer ball there, it wasn't a fun place to play at!

I'm not trying to call anyone out here as I have no idea who is responsible for Meinken Field, but that infield needs serious attention. My son's summer team just finished a game there tonight, and it was hands-down the worst infield he's played on since the beginning of this year's high school season.

 

The roughness of the infield directly affected the outcome of the game leading to at least 3 runs scored, and worse yet, one injury.

 

In my opinion, it's not fair to ask kids to play serious baseball on a field in that condition.

 

I've found myself apologizing to the Ohio Teams that are currently participating in the City Tournament, for the "choice" of fields being used for this tournament. The question comes back to District 28, as to why they would choose to host games on this field knowing the shape and condition of the field, it's down right embarrassing! I would think just a simple phone call the Recreation Dept. would/could take care of the situation or at least have access to rakes to at fill the holes in. Your right, one injury is too many and I'm thinking a broken ankle is just a play away from running over the "raised" bases.

 

The FOPA field is equally bad on the pitching mound and batters box and the grass infield is in need of water.

 

I would think that there are High School fields available for 1 week that could host this tournament or the District will giving the tournament back to Ohio for good.

Anyone know who won the "AA" Championship? I haven't seen anything posted anywhere.

Still going on. A team from Indian Hill called Team USA has won the winners bracket-meaning they are in the finals. I do think a team from Ludlow is still alive from Kentucky.

I'm sure that the City of Covington wouldn't object to Holy Cross maintaining the field...

 

Oh YES they would! Like Villa, city employees are part of a union that would demand the "right" to work on the field. Gotta love it!