Some residents are worried Woodland Park will be forgotten about after losing its main draw

Ed Logue spent years catching fly balls and teaching Little League teams in the baseball fields of Woodland Park, and now that the Newton school district has decided to move its home games to a new $3 million sporting facility near H.A. Lynn Stadium, he worries it is only a matter of time the city park will be truly forgotten.

The 69-year-old Newton resident admits he has a strong sentimental attachment to Woodland Park, which is located along North 19th Avenue East and is home to baseball fields, a basketball court, a disc golf course, shelters, extensive parking and playground equipment. The baseball field was the home of the Cardinals.

As a kid growing up on East 10th Street North, Logue was never too far from the park. Even into adulthood he finds himself strolling through the grounds almost every morning with his dog. Logue cares about the park so much he oftentimes picks up litter and places it in nearby trash bins.

While he is disappointed the district decided to build a new baseball field outside of Woodland Park, Logue just doesn’t want to see the park be forgotten about now that its main draw will be moving elsewhere. Other parks in town provide facilities for youth sports, too, which he worries might make Woodland redundant.

“If they’re not going to make a sports complex out of it, what else would they do with it? It’s nice. It was beautiful back in the day. And they got it cleaned up nice now,” Logue said, noting the 2020 derecho and 2022 tornadoes damaged several trees. “I don’t want to see it be let go. It means a lot me.”

Brian Laube, director of community services for the City of Newton, told Newton News in a recent interview that he plans on having a discussion about the future of Eversman Field — the home field of the Newton Cardinals at Woodland Park — at an upcoming park board and city council meeting.

According to the Jan. 18 park board agenda, there is indeed a discussion item regarding park assessments. The city council made it a goal this year to review the city parks and their long-term needs. Until an assessment is completed, Woodland Park and Eversman Field are here to stay.

“It’s way too early,” Laube said. “There is not any definite plans or any ideas, really, for the long-term use of that area if it’s not going to be used for baseball.”

The city has an agreement with Newton Community School District allowing access to a number of city-owned properties for sporting activities. The pool, the tennis courts and the golf course, for example, are often used for different sports. The 2022 tornado caused the school district to reevaluate its stay at Woodland.

While the city would eventually make a number of repairs to Eversman Field, the district pursued the construction of a new, multi-million-dollar baseball facility.

“We’ve already met with them recently. We do intend to have the field ready. It’s still in a temporary state for their next upcoming ball season,” Laube said. “We’re going to have it ready for them. We won’t have any permanent repairs done because we don’t know the long-term future of that field.”

At this point, the city’s only remaining loose end following the 2022 tornado is to permanently repair or replace the backstop of Eversman Field.

Other than the school district using Eversman Field for its home games, Laube said there are no other entities using the park on a regular basis. Which is something the city will likely look into further when it launches a parks assessment in the near future.

What do we have in our parks system that needs to be upgraded? How do we best utilize the land we already have? What new features should we add to certain parks? Are there certain areas that aren’t needed? Do we maintain too much ground?

These are the questions the city wants answers to regarding the long-term needs of its parks. Laube said the city needs this study, but he also stressed there will be time for the public to provide input through open houses and other means. Park board’s discussion on the parks assessment will get the ball rolling.

To listen in on the park board’s discussion in-person, attend the meeting at 6:15 p.m. Jan. 18 inside council chambers at Newton City Hall, 101 W. Fourth St. S.