KEARNEY – A bid to purchase Kearney’s Memorial Field from the City of Kearney and Kearney Parks and Recreation was removed from the agenda during a regular scheduled City Council meeting.
During a Kearney Public School Board Meeting in April, a proposal was approved by the KPS School Board for an inquiry to purchase Memorial Field from the City of Kearney. At the time, KPS Superintendent Jason Mundorf had spoke with City of Kearney Manager Mike Morgan about the potential interest in selling Memorial Field to KPS, to offset the cost that would come from maintenance and operations for the incoming Kearney Sports Complex.
A proposal of $1.5 million had been approved by the KPS School Board to send to the City of Kearney for the purchase of the Memorial Field property, field house, and the entirety of the north field which is currently used as parking.
Mundorf had stated at a previous meeting before the Kearney Public Schools Board that the cost would be more efficient for KPS considering the construction and dirt movement for a new baseball field would cost around $2 million.
KPS had also prepared to use funds to upgrade the turf and outfield at Memorial Field, as well as to add more covered seating areas at the facility.
Mundorf presented the purchase agreement to the City Council of Kearney in a June meeting. Morgan then spoke to Mundorf in the end of June that the City of Kearney would not approve the purchase, and that the motion would not be added to the agenda for discussion.
According to KPS School Board member Dave Brandt, the June 13th meeting was to provide more clarity towards the purchase agreement process with the City Council.
KPS has since decided to use the allocated funding for improvement towards Sunrise Middle School and its track and field. A new turf will be installed at the middle school facility, located on the east edge of Kearney. Brandt adds that with the addition of more soccer programs to Kearney Public Schools, more facilities are needed for practices and events.
Hear more from Dave Brandt’s appearance on KGFW’s ‘Talk of the Town’ from earlier this week:
The purchase agreement for Memorial Field has not officially been rescinded by Kearney Public Schools.
MEMORIAL FIELD HISTORY:
Established in 1946, Kearney’s Memorial Field has been well integrated in the Kearney community. Construction of Memorial Field began in 1940, as lights were added in 1946. The park is named in honor of the service men and women who fought in World War II.
The field was originally home to Kearney Irishman, but became home to the Nebraska State Rookie League’s Kearney Yankees in 1956. Legion Baseball has been played at Memorial Field since its inception, but the Kearney Baseball program has used the facility since 2019. The University of Nebraska Kearney Loper Baseball team also called Memorial Field home until the program’s dismissal in 2018.
