The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
HITTING IT OUT OF THE PARK
Restoration of Cardina Field declared a success, thanks to efforts of financial donors, volunteer laborers
History will be made a couple of times this week at Cardina Field in Fairport Harbor Village, as long as the weather cooperates.
On March 29, the first Fairport Harding High School girls softball game in recent years is scheduled to be played on Cardina Field, which has been the focus of a comprehensive restoration project.
Then on April 3, a ribboncutting and related festivities are slated at the site between noon and 3 p.m., with the ceremonial first pitch being thrown by the man for whom the field is named — Jim Cardina.
Coincidentally, the person chosen to catch Cardina’s special pitch is his great-granddaughter, Madisen McFadden. She’s also a freshman who pitches and plays third base for the Fairport Harding Skippers softball team.
So in addition to sharing in her great-grandfather’s big moment at the ribboncutting, Madisen will be part of the Harding team that plays the first softball game at the revitalized field.
Located at 820 East St., Cardina Field had fallen into disrepair and became unusable in recent years. However, the site’s future got brighter last July, when a committee announced its ambitious plans to restore the field.
The Friends of Cardina Field Committee was formed by Sandra Knight, who also is athletic director for Fairport Harbor Schools and an English teacher at Harding High and Middle schools.
“We got this (project) started and we just kept rolling with it,” she said.
The committee, along with the Fairport Athletic Boosters, drew up a detailed plan to make the field an appealing place for softball players and fans alike.
Knight has kept the project on track and ensured its success by taking the lead in raising funds, and recruiting and organizing volunteers who have performed tasks ranging from construction to painting to landscaping. Her efforts drew praise from Fairport Harbor Mayor Timothy Manross.
“Sandy has put together a very nice group of volunteers, and has gotten funding for most of the work,” Manross said.
Helpers have included Fairport Harbor Schools teachers and coaches, parents and students, and alumni. Softball players from Harding’s High School and Middle School teams also pitched in to help improve the field on which they would eventually play.
Faith Tully, a Harding senior who plays shortstop for the Lady Skippers softball squad, said she’s helped at the field with tasks such as spray-painting wood on the backstop, and shoveling and raking infield dirt.
“It’s been really fun knowing that (Cardina Field) hasn’t been used for a while, and being rebuilt up is really interesting,” Tully said. “It’s definitely been a great experience. A lot of team bonding, too.”
Cardina Field is located on property that also is home to Urbanski Field, where the Fairport Harding baseball team plays. The fields were built in 1984 and dedicated in 1985 on land donated to the school by the former Diamond Shamrock Corp.
Originally, the two ballparks were known collectively as Fairport Skipper Field. In 1997, the softball field was renamed in honor of Cardina, a well-known community member who served as a member of Fairport Harbor Village Council, the Fairport Mardi Gras Committee and the parish council of St. Anthony’s of Padua Catholic Church in the village.
Cardina also was a founding member of the committee that worked to build the baseball and softball fields on East Street, and served as an assistant coach for the high school softball team.
Eventually, Cardina Field became unsuitable for play, and Fairport Harding’s High School softball team moved its home games to Painesville Township Park. Harding’s Middle School softball squad, which was launched in 2019, also switched its home field to the same location.
Some of the changes and improvements completed at Cardina Field over the past nine months have included installation of new chain link purchased for infield fencing; large quantities of new dirt added to the infield to level the playing surface; painting of outfield fencing and infield fence poles; construction of new dugouts; new concession stand/storage building being constructed; removal of some trees around the field that were considered eyesores; and replacement of the entire electrical system at the field.
Funding for the Cardina Field project has been raised through methods ranging from Movie Nights at the softball park to fence banners allowing businesses, organizations and families to display their names. Knight also secured a $5,000 grant for the project from Cleveland Indians Charities.
The noon ribbon-cutting on April 3 at Cardina Field will be followed by a Chinese auction that continues until 3 p.m.
Jim Cardina said he is impressed by all of the improvements that have been made at the field which bears his name.
“From what I have seen, they have done a great job,” Cardina said. “I appreciate what Sandra has done and all of the volunteers giving their time.”
Knight also expressed her gratitude to everyone who helped make the Cardina Field restoration project a success.
“I just want to say thank you to all the alumni and local businesses and the entire community of Fairport Harbor, people just helping out in ways that I didn’t know were possible when we first started this project,” Knight said. “But looking back and seeing it come together has been very encouraging.”