Baltimore City Recreation & Park’s New ‘Sports Turf Management Unit’ Moving into Riverside Park Service Building

The service building and maintenance yard in the southeast corner of Riverside Park is getting reactivated as Baltimore City Recreation & Parks’ (BCRP) new Sports Turf Management Unit will move into the building. The building is currently under renovation and didn’t have an active use in recent years.

BCRP is currently completing an internal and external painting of the building, making plumbing repairs, refurbishing the heating system, adding new lighting, and installing new swing doors. A new roof was also installed in recent weeks. The Sports Turf Management Unit hopes to move into the building in four to six weeks.

BCRP Public Relations Officer Whitney Clemmons Brown told SouthBMore.com the Sports Turf Management Unit will “focus on the management of the Natural Sports turfgrass playing fields in BCRP’s inventory. The new division will work to improve the playability, resilience, safety, and aesthetic of these fields. This means Rectangle fields (football, soccer, lacrosse, field-hockey), and softball/baseball field turfgrass areas.”

The site will initially house three BCRP personnel. The team will expand to 10 in the future.

“We plan to keep vehicles, trailers, tractors, and all related tools and equipment, seed, fertilizer, and pesticides on site – in the building or compound,” said Brown.

Jackson Fisher, who coordinates activities for the Friends of Riverside Park which is a subcommittee of Riverside Neighborhood Association, said, “We look forward to having that group in the area, especially with the field renovations taking place at Riverside Park.”

Fisher added, “Having employees in there full-time and getting that building fixed up so it looks nicer and is more functional is a definite positive.”

Preliminary work on athletic facility renovations at Riverside Park has begun. Full construction is expected to begin this fall.

Jackson also noted nearby fields at Swann Park and Latrobe Park will benefit from having the Sports Turf Management Unit in the area.

About the Author: Kevin Lynch

Founder and Publisher of SouthBmore.com, longtime resident of South Baltimore, and a graduate of Towson University. Diehard Ravens and O's fan, father of three, amateur pizza chef, skateboarder, and "bar food" foodie. Email me at Kevin@InceptMM.com and follow me on Twitter at @SoBoKevin.