New Inglewood athletic field to add 2,500 playable hours per year in Sammamish
A 2020 city-wide study found that 69% of Sammamish sports teams schedule games and practices outside of Sammamish due to limited field availability. Now, after years of planning, the City is partnering with Lake Washington School District (LWSD) to add 2,500 hours of annual field time to the City’s recreation resources with a new Inglewood Middle School sports field.
In an interview with the Sammamish Independent, Sammamish parks and recreation director Anjali Myer and deputy director Kevin Teague shared that the project aims to improve field quality and provide more playable hours for the community. Construction began in mid-April and is expected to finish by late August or early September.
The project is a $13 million investment that aligns with a 20-year partnership between LWSD and the City of Sammamish.
According to Myer, the city is covering 85% of the construction costs and the district is covering the remainder.
To fund maintenance and operations, the City plans to rent the fields during non-school-use hours. Rental revenue is projected to cover operating costs with some surplus, though it will not cover the expected 10-year turf replacement.
The old Inglewood field, which was natural grass and maintained to a district standard for middle schools, primarily supported soccer and track and field. The new field will be multisport synthetic turf.
“It rains so much in the Pacific Northwest that the fields are often rained out and practices get canceled. With the artificial turf and lights, we get more playable hours on the field,” Myer said.
In addition to durability in the rain, one of the goals of the field is to be multipurpose. The new field will accommodate football, soccer, lacrosse, baseball, softball, and track and field, with multipurpose overlays allowing simultaneous use.
“The running track field was taken and moved to the north and that field can be used for football, soccer, and lacrosse. On the south end, we will put the baseball and softball at the end of that field, so you can actually play softball and baseball at the same time,” Myer said.
Lighting will extend field use in the evenings. The field will be equipped with standard field lights for gameplay that can be dimmed for track use.
“The lights will stay on until nine o’clock, per an agreement with the school district,” Teague said.
The project also includes a new gender-neutral restroom, perimeter fencing, spectator furnishings, stormwater improvements, landscaping, wheelchair-accessible dugouts, and parking.
During construction, LWSD has adjusted the physical education curriculum at Inglewood to focus on racket sports, using available facilities like gyms and tennis courts.
Once completed, Inglewood will use the field during school hours and for after-school practices. The city will rent the field to sports clubs, leagues, and other groups outside of school use.
The city will oversee the facility rentals. According to Emily Scott, the city’s recreational and cultural services manager, LWSD has first priority, followed by city-sponsored or co-sponsored programs and activities, and youth athletic leagues have third priority.
Football and soccer leagues have priority during the fall season. Baseball, softball, lacrosse, and cricket leagues have priority during the spring and summer seasons. League practices and games have priority over tournament scheduling. Adult athletic leagues have the lowest priority.
“When applications are submitted, a staff member manually inputs reservations into a software system. We calculate allocated field time based on the number of youth Sammamish residents each applicant serves,” Scott said.
