LIMA — Monday’s announcement near Spartan Stadium was the culmination of more than a decade of work and, as such, there was a great deal of excitement in the air as Lima Mayor David Berger and other municipal, educational and state leaders announced the upcoming construction of Lima Stadium Park along Bellefontaine Avenue.
“It was taking place in our imaginations even before the Lima City school board moved Senior High to its new site,” Berger said. “So there’s been consideration of this piece of geography for some time, particularly how it fit on this main entrance to our community.”
That work continued with Leo Hawk and the AR-Hale Family Foundation purchasing properties in the area, while former state Rep. Matt Huffman and state Sen. Keith Faber, R-Celina, worked to secure about $1.5 million in funding for the project in Columbus.
“The way we did capital budget requests were pretty straightforward,” Faber said. “We talked to local community leaders, and the things that were the community leaders’ priorities were our priorities, and it was an honor to work with Matt, the mayor, and other community leaders to make this park possible.”
Huffman gave a lot of credit to the Hawk family and the work the foundation put in to securing the land along Bellefontaine between Calumet Avenue and Family of Faith United Methodist Church.
“You need to love where you live,” he said. “A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into this.”
Along with the splash pad and fountain, restroom facilities, and lighted walkways that will make up the park, there will also be a monument honoring all five schools that called Lima Stadium their home field: Lima South, Lima Central, St. Rose, Lima Senior and Lima Central Catholic.
“We’re very thankful and very hopeful for the future of Lima,” LCC President Walter Klimaski said. “Having been in Lima now for almost five years, I love this town, and this park will add something very special to the city.”
“We know that tradition is very important, and we believe those five schools are very important to a lot of people,” Lima Superintendent Jill Ackerman said. “To memorialize Lima Stadium with a monument in the park means a lot to this community, and it says a lot about our community coming together and working for one cause.”
Construction on the park is expected to begin next spring, the hope being to complete the park before the first 2016 football game.
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