West Athletic Complex – Davis County Schools

Located in Bloomfield, IA

The Davis County Community School District lost its baseball field to an expiring lease agreement with the County Fairgrounds. In addition, the District's baseball and softball fields were on opposite sides of the town. As they considered their wants and long-term needs, the school district determined it best to create a combined location for the District's baseball and softball teams to host games.

After the District's bond was approved, the final phase of the bond work consisted of developing a 30+ acre site the District owned on the west side of town. Knowing its baseball field lease ended in the Spring of 2021, the District and Shive-Hattery set forth a master plan to lay out the current needs for baseball and softball. In addition, the master plan included considering the District's potential future needs, including additional multi-purpose space.

A few significant challenges to overcome were the existing row crop field and the impact on nearby wetlands. The neighboring row crop field is a primary drainage path for the surrounding areas and ultimately drains stormwater into an adjacent pond. Shive-Hattery created an encompassing stormwater report that included upgrades to the existing pond and a nearby dam with an outlet structure to ensure the site would be able to continue functioning after the impending upgrades. In addition, the findings of an environmental site assessment and hydraulic analysis delineated three wetlands with flooding potential. As a result, flood mitigation and wetland improvements were required to prevent the expansive soils from damaging new construction.

Shive-Hattery fitted both the baseball and softball fields with a complete subdrainage package and irrigation system to help keep both baseball and softball fields available during and after inclement weather. In addition, all fields were laser graded and filled with a Shakopee Red Rock material to help create a functional and maintainable complex that the District can use to host games.