The current news from the Stadium Committee is that things are moving along as planned. The two upper tiers of the bleachers have been installed, the brick wall frontage for the entire structure is in process, and the final lower tiers and reserved seating will be installed shortly. The committee met recently to discuss the repainting and lettering of the press box and the Waldo Ward building, as well as the restrooms and concession stand. The plans are to paint the press box shades of gray with black lettering noting FISHER STADIUM. The adjacent bleacher tiers will be lettered with red COLUMBIANA CLIPPERS. Similar coloring will be used for the adjoining buildings ….shades of gray and red lettering.

The reason for the change is to make the entire complex look more in keeping with the stone and brick exteriors of the buildings/pavilions in the park. The staggered tiers of bleachers, as now placed midway up the side of the press box, also work to minimize the size of it. It is too large and prominent as a feature of the park. It is now less so with these adjustments

Also in the planning stages are the backs of the new upper tier bleacher sections which will feature murals playing tribute to the Fisher legacy, other prominent players and participants in the history of the stadium. These areas will be maintained with a seasonal covering preventing fading and allowing them to be seen in appropriate months.

All projects have their issues and this one is no different. Due to the age and history of Firestone Park they keep coming up. A sewer line from the park maintenance building running through a section of the football field has been problematic. It needs repaired and prevents the replacement of the track around the football field from being completed at this time. This is a city project and will probably happen after the dedication of the new station which is scheduled for the first home football game in late August. In the meantime the stadium committee has come up with their own temporary solution for the track area. To date, the city has not contributed to the stadium project. The final decision on the football field’s future as a natural grass turf or an artificial turf is yet to be made. The committee is reviewing all of the options with input from local communities which have installed turf, as well as a presentation by a company called FIELD SOURCE, which studies local fields and makes recommendations based on experience, appropriate options, and local preferences.

New Features to

Look For:

If you drive through the park after dark or near dusk, you will notice the new lighting showing off Idabelle’s Gathering Place. Installed all around the structure and at the gates to the Legacy Trail across from the pool entrance, it makes a spectacular statement about the beauty of the new pavilion and the entrance to the Trail. It uses low-voltage lighting and provides up-lighting to wall surfaces and portals. Funded by a grant from the Columbiana Community Foundation and designed by R&B Trustee Skip McCullough. The results are a wonderful addition to the park.

Also developed by Mr. McCullough are two new gardens south of Maple Grove Pavilion. One is complete and is dedicated to Ukraine and their struggle for survival. It contains flower colors that represents the colors of that nation’s flag, i.e. blue and yellow. Agastache Blue Fortune, and blue creeping phlox are planted alongside coreopsis Sunkiss, and yellow Stellad’oro daylilies.

The second garden is still in the planning stages. It will be a “Pollinator Garden” and is located in two plots vacated when playground equipment was removed. Inspired by the just-held workshop conducted by Cindy Tylor of Terra Design Studios entitled, “What’s All the Buzz About Pollinators?” It will feature native plants as well as an arbor and statuary. Both Woody and Herbaceous plants that attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds will serve the pollination process. A sculpture of the pollinators will be a centerpiece in the larger plot. Both beds will have walking paths allowing closer observation of the plants and process. Installation of “hardscape” and woody plants will occur this fall, with the herbaceous plants coming in the spring of 2025. A grant application is being submitted the Community Foundation for funding.

The Coming of the

Senior Courts:

Jim Feath of HRG has prepared the plans for the addition of shuffleboard courts, a horseshoe court and bocce courts of installation this late summer and early fall. Plans are for bids on the project in late July, work in August and September until completed. Funded by the Bradford and Patricia Tingle Foundation, the project will also feature a shade structure, fencing and benches. It will be found across from Firestone Funland, which is also in the process of being replaced with a new playground.

The Playground Project

The committee headed by Mikala Good and Fritz Nelson and including many other parents of young children, had a community even to aid in the fundraising for this much-needed replacement. The committee has chosen the playground company, Penchura, and has also enlisted the help of Jim Feath of HRG in drawing up a Master Plan for the project. The Master Plan is also funded by the Bradford and Patricia Tingle Foundation. Fundraising is ongoing and can be contributed through the organization’s website Columbiana Playground Project.

The Fourth of July

Celebration and the

Summer/Fall Concerts:

The same committee that presented the Fireworks and accompanying activities are, again, doing their honors. Word is that is was a great show! On the same day, “Suburban Brass” presented a concert at Idabelle’s Gathering Place. It featured the group playing an hour-long program of patriotic music. Later this summer, during the month of September, the same committee will present a series of concerts on Sunday at 3 p.m. Some wonderful new groups have been enlisted to make Idabelle Firestone’s kind of music from the hillside. These concerts are free. Watch for flyers sharing the performing groups participating. And interested sponsors are needed. Call Pat Tingle at 330 207-1470 if interested in becoming a sponsor. Visit the concerts at Idabelle Firestone Concert Series on Facebook.