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SOFTBALL FIELD The Softball Field, also known as Field C1, is considered the home facility to St. Anthony's youth through high school varsity softball teams. The field has lights for night activities, an electric scoreboard and full chain-link backstop, and has permanent bleachers. Field C1 was laid out as part of a comprehensive Park renovation between 2001 and 2003 and has been maintained substantially by joint operation of the City of St. Anthony and ISD #282, with the Sports Boosters and Huskies Diamond Club providing additional labor and maintenance to keep the field in excellent playing condition. The field is currently a shared facility and contains a removable chain-link fence such that youth soccer teams can use the field after completion of the varsity softball season. However, this prevents the young women from having "ownership' of their facility, as, during summers, youth teams must contend with soccer balls, roaming dogs, and bikes that wander onto the playing surface, disturbing athletes. Furthermore, the adjacent, fully enclosed Field C4 is primarily used for baseball teams, which are able to preserve a specific use - which we aim to provide our female athletes. An extended fenceline, together with the removable outfield fence, will enclose the field in a manner similar to the adjacent baseball field; and, when combined with the Wilshire Park Soccer renovations, will enable the City to allow the removable fence to remain in place semi - permanently. This will yield the best of all worlds—expand soccer opportunities while encouraging young women by giving them a "field of their own" commensurate with the adjacent baseball facility. As mentioned earlier, Central Park was, before development of St. Anthony in the 1950s, the site of a swamp. Though its elevation (as being one of the highest points in Hennepin County) would seem to indicate otherwise, this fact is deceiving; the property contains a significant amount of clay soil, which holds water in place instead of typical drainage into the groundwater system. In St. Anthony's parks renovation project of 2001, a 6 - 8" layer of sand was placed on top of native clay soils in efforts to quickly remove stormwater without affecting the fields on top of it. Unfortunately, since there is no easy place for the water to seep into the groundwater supply, the sand has enabled the retention of water without further drainage—in effect, a giant, soaked sponge. During and after spring and summer rains, fields in the park are frequently unsafe and unplayable because of the standing water on the fields—as the water has no place to go. This problem is exacerbated on the ballfields on the south end of the park, which includes the softball field, as the surrounding land slopes toward these fields—so water tends to pool in certain areas of these fields. This flooding causes cancellation of games and practices, which is 30