PANAMA CITY — What often has seemed like a poorly kept secret over past decades finally could turn into reality at Gulf Coast State College.
The proposed relocation of the school’s baseball and softball fields has picked up momentum with the impending construction of the U.S. 98 flyover beginning in summer 2015. The project will alleviate traffic snarls in front of the college, but will result in some changes to the campus. Flyover contingencies have prompted a look into providing new facilities for the diamond-sport programs, which are competing on some of the oldest fields in the region.
The flyover will bypass the Port of Panama City entrance, the 23rd Street intersection and adjacent railroad tracks for traffic coming to and from Panama City Beach along U.S. 98. Construction will erase land and parking spaces at the school and could impact entrances along the route. This will place more emphasis on the Collegiate Drive entrance, which begins at the new Advanced Technology Center (ATC) and Bill Frazier Field, the home of Gulf Coast’s baseball team.
The current access road, Commodore Circle, continues past Joe Tom King Field, the venue for the softball team, around Billy Harrison Field House and intersects with the current 23rd Street entrance. Frazier Field contends with traffic patterns from three roads, but has a sound buffer with 23rd Street from a row of tall trees.
There is no such buffer at Joe Tom King Field, with the press box and third-base dugout mere feet from the access road.
Collegiate Drive also will be undergoing current and future construction, with the Florida Department of Transportation website showing the first project costing more than $200,000. The road also connects with the two Florida State University Panama City entrances and will include an on-ramp near Carl Gray Park for westward travel along Hathaway Bridge.
There has been talk of building new facilities for Gulf Coast’s baseball and softball teams in recent decades, but the key always has been finding the funds to finance any future projects. The DOT will compensate for the loss of acreage at the school.
Negotiations on the figures are ongoing; a measure that already has produced mixed results from local business owners along the flyover route.
Should they stay or should they go?
Outgoing GCSC President Jim Kerley said moving the fields is an inevitability.
“It’s safe to say that’s true and it makes sense for the college,” Kerley said. “They could stay there, but that multiplies the problem of concerns already. It (construction) will cause a lot more havoc.”
The flyover could reach heights in excess of 30 feet, which would take away from the college’s visibility. That is a major concern for the school and it switches the focus to the Collegiate Drive and 23rd Street intersection. The entrance there likely will become the future focal point for the school with an enticing view of the ATC.
The project will remove at least 175 parking spaces and close to six acres of land from in front of the college, Kerley said, and he mentioned the current site for Frazier Field as an ideal place for a multi-story parking garage. Room for expansion is scarce on campus, which is strapped for space while the ballfields remain on the grounds.
“We have someone doing the master planning,” GCSC Athletic Director Gregg Wolfe said. “We’re determining the best use of that space, the best use of the acreage. The only way for us to go is up.”
The flyover project is expected to take several years for completion. Increased traffic flow and noise in addition to the present safety issues are concerns that likely will be compounded during the 2016 season. Noise from several years of construction of the ATC also proved aggravating and Wolfe believes it could be exacerbated with the magnitude of this project.
Kerley pointed out present safety concerns at Joe Tom King Field. Spectators are asked not to chase down foul balls, as children commonly do at Frazier Field.
The close proximity of the road also leaves softball spectators vulnerable should there be a multi-car accident or veering vehicles. There are no barriers along the sidewalks along 23rd Street and there aren’t any fences around either field. That not only decreases safety, but negates the possibility of charging admission for games like other Panhandle Conference schools.
Where to move?
Wolfe said the plan is for both teams to compete next season at present venues. There should be minimal impact before summer, he said, and the school will monitor effects in 2016. He said there’s a possibility of playing at a temporary site should the noise and commotion become too much to host competitive baseball and softball games.
Wolfe said there have been preliminary talks with area high schools, including Bay and Rutherford, to host games should an alternate site be needed before construction of new venues. The time table to decide on new fields or moving to temporary locations isn’t immediate, Wolfe said.
“The most important question is what kind of money are we looking at? We’re not just talking about dirt,” Wolfe said. “We’ve had someone look at it. It’s in the millions of dollars. We have to find that kind of money.”
Some of the funding could come from the DOT settlement with the school. That said, Kerley and Wolfe agreed that there will be discussions about where every dollar goes, and those negotiations can take some time. Wolfe said that planning and eventual construction of the Harrison Field House took more than seven years to complete.
He said there have been several options presented for possible destinations of new fields. One of them is a college-owned parcel of land across 23rd Street. There were tentative plans drawn up several years ago, but Wolfe said the space would allow only for relocating the softball field.
Wolfe said there are hopes for partnering with Panama City or Panama City Beach to offset some of the cost. Those discussions have taken place intermittently over the past two years, he said. There are potential destinations, such as Frank Nelson Park, but nothing is concrete.
Kerley and Wolfe both admitted the flyover has somewhat increased the urgency to make a decision. Kerley said there was a lull in the project and there was a time the DOT was unsure when it would begin. Kerley said school officials in a way “forgot about it” until the DOT announced the definite start date.
“It does speed up our decision,” Kerley said. “We might not be (making it right away), but we’re not sitting still on it.”
Upgrades needed
Joe Tom King Field was the former home of the baseball team for more than 20 years starting in 1968. The DOT paid the school for lost acreage in creating right of ways during the 23rd Street widening. The funds were used to build Frazier Field for $300,000 and it officially opened on March 10, 1989.
GC softball has utilized Joe Tom King Field since the early 1990s, when the school had a slow-pitch program before moving to fast-pitch in 1995 under current coach Susan Painter. By comparison, other Panhandle Conference schools have newer facilities.
Tallahassee’s baseball team has played in the same stadium since 1991, but had its turf replaced last season. The Tallahassee softball team has played in its facility since 2000.
Chipola softball had a new stadium built in 2007. The Indians’ baseball and softball complexes are within yards of each other and both share renovated locker rooms and a batting facility that was built in 2003.
Frazier Field has had some upgrades during current coach Mike Kandler’s tenure. Since his hiring in 2005, new netting, fencing and a scoreboard have been installed as well as a brick backstop, upgrades to the batting cage and locker room and a tarp to cover the infield was donated.
Kandler said he hasn’t been in the loop about new fields and added he’s heard about as much as anyone in the community. Rumors of new facilities have floated since he joined the staff as head coach.
“It’s just been mentioned that it might get moved, but there hasn’t been anything of substance,” Kandler said. “I haven’t heard much about it.”
What Kandler has heard are the myriad options. He said it would be ideal to keep both fields close together in being able to build something akin to what Chipola has, but he understands those discussions will take place when there’s more imminent planning.
Painter also hasn’t heard much about possible moves. Kerley and Wolfe both reassured that Painter and Kandler will be in on planning stages in the future.
There’s no need to convince Painter on the importance of a new field.
“It’s much-needed. We’re surviving with what we have,” Painter said. “The street is very loud.”
Joe Tom King Field itself isn’t conducive to a perfect softball atmosphere, either, she said. The dugouts are farther away from the field because it was a former baseball venue. Painter would like to see a more softball-friendly facility.
“We miss a lot with the way our dugouts are,” Painter said. “We’re not on the field. It’s not a close-knit home environment. That needs to change.”