Oak Ridge Today

Renovated Blankenship Field open for public use

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Blankenship-Field-James-Mitchell-Aug-2019
The renovated Blankenship Field—the city’s football field—and its walking track are now open for public use. The main change is that the grass field has been replaced with synthetic turf, but there are other changes as well. The field is pictured above in August 2019. (Photo by James Mitchell via City of Oak Ridge)

The renovated Blankenship Field—the city’s football field—and its walking track are now open for public use.

The main change is that the grass field has been replaced with synthetic turf, but there are other changes as well, including to scoreboards and end zone areas.

The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department and Oak Ridge Schools announced the opening of the renovated field on Tuesday.

The field and track are accessible through a gate adjacent to the lower concession stand, a press release said. Like other public park facilities, public use is permitted from sunup to sundown, except when the field is reserved for special events, the press release said.

[Read more…]

Blankenship Field renovations to start after football season

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Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium are pictured above on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium are pictured above on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The renovations at Blankenship Field, including the installation of synthetic turf, won’t start until after this year’s football season ends, officials said Thursday.

At one time, there had been hopes that the renovation work would have started this past January and be finished by this June. Then, after an $800,000 contract was approved in June, there had still been the possibility that the work could be complete this summer, on or around the first home football game in August.

But on Thursday, the City of Oak Ridge announced a decision to wait until the Oak Ridge High School football season is complete to begin the renovations.

“The decision was based on the contractor’s estimate that the project could not be completed without impacting the first three home football games,” a city press release said. [Read more…]

Updated: Council approves $800,000 contract for synthetic turf at Blankenship

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Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium are pictured above on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium are pictured above on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was published at 4:15 p.m. June 19 and updated at 6 p.m. June 20.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Tuesday approved a $800,000 contract to buy and install synthetic turf at Blankenship Field.

Council approved the contract in 5-0 vote during a special meeting Tuesday evening in the Multipurpose Room in the Central Services Complex in central Oak Ridge.

The contract was awarded to Field Turf USA Inc. of Montreal in Quebec, Canada. The company has a regional office in Calhoun, Georgia.

The contract says the purchase and installation of the synthetic turf are not to exceed $800,000. [Read more…]

Accepting state grant for Blankenship Field means it must be open to public

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Blankenship Field Overall Plan

An overall view of the proposed renovation of Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium. (File image from April 2015)

 

Accepting a state grant of $480,000 for Blankenship Field, primarily for synthetic turf, means that the facilities must be open to the public.

But there could be exceptions for previously scheduled events that are coordinated through the Oak Ridge school system.

Keeping the facilities open is part of an operational agreement with Oak Ridge Schools that was amended in a 7-0 vote by Oak Ridge City Council on Monday, November 13.

“The important thing is that it’s just not locked up,” Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson told City Council during that meeting. Residents have to be able to use the property.

Watson said there will be a bathroom available, and the facilities will be open sunrise to sunset. There could be field rentals, Watson said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge receives Blankenship Field grant, primarily for synthetic turf

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Blankenship Field Overall Plan

An overall view of the proposed renovation of Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium. (File image from April 2015)

 

Oak Ridge has received a state grant of just under $500,000 that will be used primarily for synthetic turf at Blankenship Field. But it is also expected to help pay for track improvements, upgraded restrooms, fencing between the football field and track, and improvements to the Cedar Hill trailhead behind the visitors bleachers at Jack Armstrong Stadium, city officials said Thursday.

The Local Parks and Recreation Fund grant requires a 50 percent match. The match is supposed to be provided by the nonprofit Blankenship Field Revitalization Foundation, and it can be a mix of cash and in-kind contributions, although the precise percentage of each—cash versus in-kind contributions—isn’t clear yet. The foundation has been chaired by Tennessee Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate Randy McNally.

Officials expect to know more after four of them—City Manager Mark Watson, City Council member Rick Chinn, Recreation and Parks Director Jon Hetrick, and Allen Thacker of Oak Ridge Schools—attend mandatory grant training in Nashville in February.

After that, the Oak Ridge City Council could accept the grant, possibly as early as the February 13 meeting. [Read more…]

Council supports grant application for synthetic turf at Blankenship

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Blankenship Field Overall Plan

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday unanimously supported a grant application for synthetic turf on Blankenship Field. An overall view of part of the proposed renovation of Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium is pictured in this image from early 2015.

 

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday unanimously authorized a grant application for synthetic turf on Blankenship Field.

If approved by Tennessee officials, the grant could be worth up to $500,000. It would be matched by the Blankenship Field Revitalization Foundation, a nonprofit organization chaired by Tennessee Senator Randy McNally.

The synthetic turf is part of the first phase of a multi-million-dollar proposal to renovate Blankenship Field and Jack Armstrong Stadium.

Previous work has included replacing the visitors side bleachers and renovating the Broadway Avenue parking lot.

The application approved by City Council in a 7-0 vote on Monday is for a Local Parks and Recreation Fund grant from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. The requested grant funding could range between $250,000 and $500,000. The grant requires a 50 percent match. [Read more…]