SOLON– Play ball!
The first pitch at the Solon Recreation and Nature Area’s (SRNA) renovated varsity baseball field was set for Monday, May 24, with visiting Liberty High School opening the summer season against the Solon Spartans.
But Liberty’s field was reserved just in case.
“Weather’s not helping us this week, but we will be able to play baseball on Monday, or at least that’s the plan,” reported Jess Rickertsen, a member of the parent group organizing the improvements.
There was still a final pour of concrete scheduled Saturday for the bleachers between home plate and the visiting dugout, he said, but the field itself is ready to go, the new dugouts complete and taller netting in place.
Rickertsen said the project started about a year ago when some baseball parents had a “you know what would be nice conversation” about the existing field from a fan’s perspective.
“Then the derecho is kind of what really set things in motion,” he observed.
The August 2020 storm damaged the facility, and the potential insurance payment served as the starting point for the parent group. They decided to make a pitch to the district school board regarding long overdue improvements, Rickertsen said.
In the fall, parent representative Mike Shive approached board members with a proposal to improve the field’s overall safety and fan experience.
The board’s willingness to move forward was key in getting the footings in the ground before winter, he noted.
“If we had not done that, we would not be ready for baseball on Monday.”
The overall project includes new home and visitor dugouts lowered into the ground and moved down the base line to give more room for spectators; and the complete replacement of the backstop, including new brick wall and higher netting.
Rickertsen estimated the changes would double or triple the number of fans able to enjoy a game seated.
Adding more bleachers may be part of the second phase, which includes a new press box and finishing touches, perhaps concession stand improvements, he said.
A set of bleachers in the Spartan Stadium end zone, used for the marching band, will be borrowed for baseball over the summer months, he added.
Between the insurance check, a school district contribution and parent fundraising, he said, the first wave of improvements are financed.
Over half of the $200,000-plus budget came from the school, he stated, with about $90,000 raised privately through the sale of commemorative bricks.
Rickertsen said the parent group sold 230 individual bricks and six of the bigger home plates sold for $5,000 each.
The project also benefited from about $20,000 of donated goods and services in-kind, as well as almost 1,500 volunteer hours, equal to about $100,000 of labor, he reported.
Baseball players signed up for shifts helping the bricklayer, and numerous other volunteers, including Head Baseball Coach Keith McSweeney and Alex Krafka of Krafka Lawn and Landscape spent a lot of time on site, he added.
Baseball dads were down at the diamond, even in the rain, hanging netting, setting poles and cleaning up, he said.
He offered his thanks to the parents, school board members and the City of Solon, which operates the field jointly with the school district through a 28e agreement and utilizes the SRNA for recreational programs.
“This doesn’t happen without a very involved community of baseball parents and Solon as a whole,” he said. “I’m not sure too many communities could have pulled this off in the time frame that we had.”
Everybody was on the same page and willing to work together to address safety, he noted.
The previous dugouts were open to the field and very near the end of their lifespan, with dry, rotted wood and crumbling corners, he said. The new dugouts are partially in the ground, with netting on the front to protect players.
The backstop, adjacent to a recreational diamond where youth sports are played, was previously only 20 feet tall.
The new netting is 38 feet, he said, although there were additional unanticipated costs associated with digging the footings for the poles.
“You’re almost doubling the height of that backstop,” he said.
The parent group is appreciative of the response to the brick sales, Rickertsen promised.
“There are so many projects that deserve support in the community,” he said. “This is one that was kind of pushed along by the derecho, and once we kind of got moving with it, it was a rock downhill, everyone was jumping on board.”
The parents will keep selling the bricks and the $5,000 home plates to raise funds for the press box, audio equipment and other minor items, he stated.
“We’re going to continue this process until that place is done the way it should be done, and players and families can enjoy it for the next 50 years without having to put a lot of money into it,” he said.
Rickertsen’s son Brayden is a senior, but he has another son in fifth grade and knows many of the families in between.
“Anybody that goes down there and takes a look at this, it’s easy to see how this is going to be a jewel for the city for years and years to come,” he said.

Gallery • 3 Photos

Varsity baseball players assisting Alex Krafka with the installation of drainage.