Karns City in early talks to build new on-campus baseball, softball fields
Last week, the Karns City Area School Board discussed a hypothetical idea of building new baseball and softball fields on campus.
The talks are in early stages.
Over the past few years, Gremlins baseball coach Josh Smith and softball coaches have approached Karns City superintendent Eric Ritzert about the possibility of building their own home fields.
“We started looking even on the property of our school district, and at the last board meeting, discussed the possibility of up over beyond the hill,” Ritzert said, referencing the area on campus above Diehl Stadium, where the football team currently practices. “There’s 70 acres on the school district’s property. Could we develop a field there at some point? That would likely be in conjunction with an overall renovation of the secondary campus.”
The baseball team has played its games at Pullman Park, while the softball team plays on Karns City’s turf football field.
Ritzert said any speculation on a potential cost of on-campus fields is “premature because we don’t even have the land area developed where we could even start to work.”
Ritzert added Karns City has thought of clear-cutting a wooded area on campus and resourcing it to help prepare the site. Karns City is hoping to do a feasibility study this fall to “see if it’s even economically and environmentally possible to do.”
Karns City’s discussions regarding a turf baseball field doesn’t have anything to do with the Butler Area School District assuming control over Pullman Park. Ritzert said if that park is improved, there could be an agreement for the Gremlins to continue playing there.
Karns City has also looked at local partnerships, both with the township and Sugarcreek Park.
