Partnerships the name of the game for city parks

The city of Indianapolis has launched a campaign to upgrade hundreds of athletic fields in city parks.

Indy Parks Spokesperson Paula Freund walked through Arsenal Park Friday. The park is one of 206 that house 230 athletic fields that she believes need big help.

"The park has been used in different ways over the years and the base of the baseball diamonds no longer exists. So we're looking to have this park be multi-use until we can find the funds to manage and upgrade," Freund said Friday.

But following a master plan like the one for Arsenal Park isn't cheap. Upgrading an athletic field and making it playable costs at least $50,000. Multiply that by 230 (the total number of Indy Parks athletic fields) and that's $11.5 million. The city is in the midst of trying to raise funds through more private partnerships.

"Public-private partnerships with private entities and then also leagues and teams that can come in and rent the fields," said Freund.

Case in point, Freund also discussed Douglas Park where the NFL kicked in $50,000 to upgrade a football field. Turf specialist Jamie Mehringer did the work.

"It's good to be working and just come by and ask what's going on and being excited about seeing that their park or athletic field is improving," Mehringer said.

Neighbor Kim Mobley is happy to see the Douglas Park improvements.

"That's real nice. You can just go over to the event and to hear all that and to see the kids playing over there," Mobley said.

The NFL also kicked in money to redo athletic fields at two other city parks. The city has $3.5 million for capital improvements next year, but some of that money is also slated for pools. They say that's why private enterprise is remains crucial.