A complete renovation of the Davis Street soccer fields adjacent to Iola’s Riverside Park is progressing, albeit slowly.
“It’s gone a little slower than I’d like,” said Recreation Director Jason Bauer. “But with the lead time for the electrical stuff, there’s not much we can do about it.”
On top of re-seeding the soccer fields, complete with a new irrigation system, crews are installing lights, which will allow for other activities, such as flag football, to be played on the soccer fields as well.
And while the crews have the electric poles erected, and the lights and lines secured, the city must wait for the cross arms to arrive, Bauer noted.
And those won’t ship until mid-September.
“That’s what really slowed us down,” Bauer said.
Crews want the lights in place before stringing up the wire, because doing so in reverse would greatly complicate the installation process, he explained.
“We don’t want to have to bring trucks out and worry about breaking any lines,” he said.
The fields will be re-seeded once the irrigation lines are installed, likely in September.
Still to be determined is where the city will install restroom facilities, Bauer noted. Options include installing them close to the fields, or perhaps closer to the nearby Prairie Spirit Trail for better access to trail users.
With the irrigation and sewer lines being installed “we have options,” Bauer said.
With the flag football season slated to begin in the fall, those games will again be held on Diamonds 2 and 3 inside the park.
“It’ll be nice getting the flag football games out of there,” Bauer said. “That way they’re not tearing up the grass” within the diamonds.
