A Concrete Solution
Parks department and local cricket club partner on a low-maintenance option to add cricket to an existing parks complex
Cricket has grown in popularity in Iowa, and with that increased demand has come the need for solutions to accommodate user groups.
The City of Marion, Iowa, was approached by a local cricket club that was seeking a space for practices and games. According to Brent Neighbor, CSFM, deputy director, parks & recreation for the City of Marion, the cricket club had previously utilized an area of their employer’s green space. However, after losing access to that space, the group turned to the City of Marion as a partner.
Cricket play centers around a narrow rectangular “pitch” that takes the brunt of traffic. Bowlers, batters and fielders all focus their movement through this area, which is roughly 10 feet wide and more than 60 feet long. Traditionally, the pitch area of a cricket field is grass kept hard and smooth by rolling with a 3-ton roller.
However, Neighbor knew his department did not have the resources and staffing to maintain a grass pitch. The
local cricket club suggested pouring a concrete slab for the cricket pitch.
At that point, the City of Marion Parks & Recreation department identified Lowe Park, its Pee Wee baseball complex, as a possible fit for the cricket pitch. The facility hosts baseball, flag football, special events, and now cricket.
“It has four skinned infields on the corners and the green space is all located in the center,” said Neighbor. “So we took aerial photos, looked at the imagery and how we use the fields, and how we could accommodate this. We run flag football in the fall and can run them at different angles on those Pee Wee diamonds. If we centered up that the concrete pitch in the middle of the fields and ran it north and south, we would still be able to run flag football.”
According to Neighbor, the Pee Wee fields don’t have outfield fencing, and the 6 to 8 year olds who use the fields typically don’t even get the ball out of the infield. So the concrete slab for the cricket pitch was able to be placed in the area where the outfields of the baseball fields meet, and the park could still accommodate everything it had in the past.
Seth Staashelm, CPRP, CPSI, director of parks and recreation for the City of Marion, pointed out that cricket is a culturally significant sport, and the city is pleased to be able to host cricket among its many sports and programs.
“Multiple sports are able to coexist at our facilities,” Staashelm added. “This isn’t replacing anything; it’s expanding access within the same footprint.”
According to Staashelm, the community impact of such partnerships with user groups is essential for the City of Marion, and sets an example for other agencies throughout the country.
According to the cricket club that uses the facility, the biggest driver for the popularity of cricket in Iowa is the technology industry within the state, which attracts many engineers and other professionals from traditional cricket-playing countries such as India, Pakistan, England and Australia. The main employer for the club that utilizes Lowe Park is Collins Aerospace, but people in the club also travel to play at other facilities.
The club was up front with the Marion Parks & Recreation Department that the center pitch area would receive the most wear and tear. From the onset of discussions, they requested the concrete slab as part of the facility. According to Neighbor, the city provided the space and manpower to install the concrete pitch, while the cricket club provided the funds for pouring the concrete, and also donates its time and knowledge to run a cricket program for local youth.
“It’s a very specific skill set to manage that that runway on a cricket field,” said Neighbor. “It requires a lot of watering and rolling because they want it very fast but they need just a little bit of green. I don’t think there was the expectation from the group that we do that level of maintenance.”
The concrete slab for the center cricket pitch was topped with an outdoor carpet that is glued directly to the concrete. The carpet is just basic outdoor carpeting that can be purchased at a local home improvement center or carpet store.
For other sports field managers and parks and recreation professionals who are interested in adding cricket to their facilities, Neighbor said that the center pitch is the main consideration; but beyond that, the wear is very well distributed throughout the cricket field.
Other considerations, however, include having a shaded area for the “dugout” areas, as well as electrical for the scoreboard.
“Our cricket association provides its own scoreboard, but it is portable,” he said. “They’re able to set it up, but they do need electricity for that. The other thing we did recently was to pour another pad for a batting cage for their practices. That batting cage area is outside of the play area. I would also look at replacing the carpet on the center cricket pitch slab every four years or so on average.”
According to Neighbor, the key is how the field plays for all user groups.
“While we cannot control use or moisture, we focus on what we can control, such as how the surface plays,” he stated. “We do this by implementing the basics: regular mowing (observing the 1/3 rule), regular aeration, overseeding, and proper fertility.
“It’s a challenge as a sports field manager, but one that continues to deepen our appreciation for the partnerships that we have built and provides opportunities for all residents to participate in the sports they enjoy.”
Content and photos provided by Brent Neighbor, CSFM. John Kmitta contributed to this report.