Auburn's Falcon Park turf project on track despite snow

23 November 2018

Despite November's snowfalls, the synthetic turf installation at Falcon Park is still expected to be completed on time in the spring.

The Auburn City Council unanimously approved moving forward with the project in October, nearly three months after the plan to transform the facility so it could be used by Cayuga Community College teams was first introduced.

The goal was to have the new artificial turf field ready so CCC teams could begin using it in the spring, but that meant getting work underway in the fall. More than 15 inches of snow in mid-November was not in the plan.

Despite that, Superintendent of Public Works Mike Talbot said this week he believes that the project is still aligned with its anticipated timeline — even with several early snow days this year. The main reason for his optimism is that work that began last month was ahead of schedule before the snow storm last week.

The turf installation, a $2 million project, was first introduced in July as a way for Cayuga Community College to provide student athletes a weather-enduring facility.  

Falcon Park, home of the minor league Auburn Doubledays, will host the team's home-opener against the State College Spikes in June 2019, but the plan is for the park to be open long before that.

Once the project is complete, the stadium will transform from a four-month-a-year facility to a 10-month one. This will allow CCC's athletic teams, including a new baseball squad, to compete at the park in the fall, winter and spring.

Insulating the park's clubhouses and padding the outfield wall will also be done before the stadium finishes its remodel. CCC has entered into a lease with the city that's structured to cover the city's costs of making the renovations.

 

Source: auburnpub.com