The city of Avon is asking Lorain County commissioners for up to $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds for proposed facility upgrades to the city’s recreation complex.
The city said Oct. 12 during the commissioners meeting it also would contribute $1 million to what would be a $2.9 million improvement project.
The complex features the 5,000-seat Mercy Health Stadium, home to the Lake Erie Crushers baseball club of the Frontier League, the French Creek YMCA and T3 Performance, a sports training complex.
Avon kicked off the project this fall by installing a new synthetic field at the baseball stadium at a cost of $650,000.
That work is expected to be completed in November.
The main improvements would be a $500,000 video scoreboard and the addition of a $750,000 synthetic turf field that could be used for a variety of athletic programming.
The proposed project would be a collaborative effort between Avon, the French Creek Y and the Crushers with the county’s contribution coming in the form of funding.
The county’s share would help pay in part for a new video scoreboard at the stadium; informational marquee signage along Interstate 90 and the southwest corner of the intersection of Recreation Lane and state Route 611; LED stadium lighting; and improved lighting in the stadium parking lot.
The proposal summary was submitted by the city to the commissioners Oct. 12.
Avon Mayor Bryan K. Jensen, Crushers co-owner Tom Kramig and French Creek YMCA Executive Director Eric Stinehelfer all spoke to the commissioners during the meeting.
The city of Avon would match the $1 million requested from the commissioners with $1 million of its own money.
The French Creek YMCA is planning to apply for a $250,000 grant from the NFL Foundation Grassroots program this spring to help pay for a portion of the synthetic field.
The YMCA then would run an NFL-affiliated flag football league at the location, which could include other branches from the YMCA of Greater Cleveland of which French Creek is a member.
The YMCA would use the synthetic field for youth programming, that would include a Y-run flag football league, Stinehelfer told the commissioners.
“We are looking for green space, turfed space, to be able to use that year-round,” he said.
The proposed plan calls for a $500,000 video scoreboard and $250,000 for LED stadium and parking lot lighting.
Mercy Health Stadium is the only ballpark in the Frontier League without a video scoreboard.
The stadium opened in 2009 and the YMCA in 2010.
Installing the new video scoreboard would open up the stadium for other types of events, Kramig told the commissioners.
“We think it can dramatically improve the product we offer to the fans,” he said of the installation of a new video scoreboard. “And I think it will also open a lot of events that we can use the facility for like movie nights and watch parties.”
Avon officials believe the complex improvements can spur tourism to the area.
Youth flag football will bring families to Avon to watch their children play, Kramig said.
Mercy Health Stadium has hosted youth summer baseball tournaments, he said.
“Even when the Crushers are out of town, there is something going on at the ballpark,” Kramig said.
Decision forthcoming
The commissioners told Jensen they should have a decision in the next couple of weeks.
“I think it would be great to have movie nights and watch parties,” Lorain County Commissioner Matt Lundy said. “And I think quite candidly, if they decide they ever want to have big shows or concerts over there, when you go to those, everyone wants a big screen so they can see what’s going on on the stage.
“I think it would be helpful in bringing people in.”
Commissioner Dave Moore questioned who would receive the money from the advertising on the informational marquee signs and scoreboard.
Jensen said that money would go to the owner of the stadium, but the county would be given the use of the signs to promote county activities.
Jensen noted that Avon owns the stadium and the building where the YMCA is located.
And while the city will benefit from the upgrades, so will area families that can go to a Crushers game, or watch their youngsters take part in a flag football league game run by the local YMCA, he said.
“What COVID taught us was we need to get families back together,” Jensen said. “We need to have opportunities for our children to do things together.”
Lundy said the improvement project could spur additional tourism in Lorain County.
He said the stadium along with the Lorain County Fair and Rockin’ on the River summer weekly concert series in downtown Lorain bring the most visitors to the area.
That said, the federal government denoted that American Rescue Plan Act funds can be used to jumpstart or rejuvenate tourism, which this project could do, Lundy said.
He said he also liked the idea of using the video scoreboard for family movie nights or watch parties if Cleveland sports teams advance deep into the postseason.
“I could go to the stadium and watch the Cavs in the playoffs, or watch Guardians eventually beat the Yankees,” Lundy said.
The commissioners are weighing a request for $1 million from the Lorain Port and Finance Authority for a new stage at the Black River Landing in downtown Lorain.
Earlier this summer, the commissioners approved a $1.5 million grant from county American Rescue Plan Act funds to the Lorain County Fair Board to pay for an $8 million fairgrounds improvement project.
Improved parking for Job and Family Services
The commissioners approved a resolution 3-0 to pay for a nearly $900,000 parking lot improvement project at the Job and Family Services building at 42485 North Ridge Road.
The project has been in the planning stage for six years, and when completed, will ease flooding problems at the building and increase employee parking.
“When we have a lot of rain … the amount of water we get on the south side of the building actually gets in the building,” and causes flooding in the building, Lorain County Deputy Administrator Karen Perkins told the commissioners.
This project will add drainage that should solve that flooding problem, Perkins said.
Precision Engineering and Contracting Inc. of Solon will do the work, which also includes adding additional parking on the Elyria Avenue side of the building, she said.
“Parking is pretty tight over there, and this will relieve some of that,” Perkins said.
The project will start on or before Nov. 7 and should be completed by June 30.
Help for victims of crime
The commissioners voted 3-0 to accept a $108,252 grant from the Ohio Attorney General for the Lorain County Victim Witness Program.
The money comes from the State Victims Assistance Act and the federal Victims of Crime Act grant programs.
The county must pay a 20 percent match of the grant, which is $27,063.
The money is used to pay the partial salaries of six full-time victim advocates who work in the Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office.
