The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Pipe Yard stadium transfer approved
Ballpark will transfer ownership to Lorain Schools
Lorain’s hometown ballpark will transfer from city ownership to Lorain City Schools.
City Council on Oct. 16 approved the transfer of P.C. Campana Park, with the Pipe Yard baseball diamond, to the Lorain City School Board.
The 1,300-seat facility, which formally is named The Pipe Yard Stadium Powered by FirstEnergy Solutions, is located at 2840 Meister Road.
The 66.2-acre park is the home field of the Lorain County Ironmen baseball team and Lorain Youth Baseball, which plays on 11 ball diamonds also at the park.
The school district agreed to work with the city and tenants to make the ball field available for youth oriented activities “in a manner that is reasonable and consistent” with school district policies and procedures, according to the transfer agreement.
So far, Lorain Youth Baseball’s board members have not met with school officials to discuss plans for the park, said Ron Cordy, board president.
Lorain Youth Baseball supported the transfer because Campana Park is a jewel, but the city has not been able to handle the park the way city leaders wanted, Cordy said.
The league has played there since 1965, he said.
“We’re anxiously awaiting what’s going to happen,
but we’re very supportive of it,” Cordy said about the property transfer.
In the last few years, the league has averaged about 400 players, ages 4 to 18, on about 40 co-ed teams, he said.
The teams play midMay to mid-July, but planning for 2018 already has started, with 2018 registration to start by the end of this year, Cordy said.
Lorain Youth Baseball is open to children from any
community, but up to 95 percent of its players come from Lorain, he said.
The league has a good relationship with the school district and has helped hone the skills of Lorain’s student-athletes, Cordy said.
It has game winners, but coaches emphasize baseball skills and good sportsmanship over victory at any cost, he said.
“It’s not all about winning, it’s about developing the kids,” Cordy said. “It’s interesting. It’s a lot of fun watching everybody play, too.”
Cordy attended the Oct. 16 Council meeting but did not get to speak publicly about the park transfer.
A spokesman for the Lorain County Ironmen said the organization leadership would wait until the school district takes action to accept the park, before commenting publicly.
In the Council meeting, Councilman-at-Large Mitch Fallis said leaders of Lorain Youth Baseball and the Lorain County Ironmen hoped for approval Oct. 16 so they could discuss with Lorain school officials how their seasons would unfold next year.
Council did not hear from the school board about what the district would do with the property, said Ward 2 Councilman Dennis Flores.
Ward 8 Councilman Joshua Thornsberry supported Flores and suggested holding a committee meeting on site for all the parties to discuss a long-term plan.
Thornsberry said he would not endorse the transfer.
Councilwoman Mary Springowski supported Fallis and said it appeared the school and league officials had been in communication with each other.
Mayor Chase Ritenauer said discussions dated to late last year because the city and schools have a shared interest in conveying the property.
“The schools can utilize it far better than we can, not to mention Lorain Youth Baseball will remain there so that the presence will be preserved, as well as the Ironmen, if they choose to stay, there’s a way for them to do that as well,” Ritenauer said.
Flores had questions, but publicly stated he did not oppose the transfer, so he assented in Council’s 10-1 vote to approve it. Thornsberry dissented.
Along with the Ironmen, the park in recent years has hosted a number of special games and tournaments involving youth and amateur teams.
The Ironmen have played there for several years, finishing their 2017 season 13-29, according to the team website.
In 2015, the Ironmen announced the team would play in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League.
In 2011, the stadium got a new moniker with a new sponsorship.
In an eight-year agreement, FirstEnergy Solutions was to contribute $500,000 toward the park.
The energy company was to contribute $55,000 this year and the same amount in 2018 and 2019, according to the sponsorship agreement.