Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation | Frederick Douglass High School Brooks Robinson New Turf Field

Lewis Contractors continued its decade-long relationship with the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation to complete a new low maintenance, synthetic turf baseball field on the grounds of Frederick Douglass High School in West Baltimore. In addition to the artificial turf baseball field, this 5 1/2 month project included a dedication monument, dugouts for the players, bleachers for the fans, and a new digital scoreboard requiring electrical tie-ins to the existing electrical panel in the press box.

Construction began with a considerable amount of ground preparation—demolition, mass grading, and excavation—to better equip the site for a level, 95,000 SF playing field. The sitework was extensive and defined primarily by an involved storm water management plan—the rework of the existing storm water piping and the installation of a state-of-the-art subterranean filtration system. This cutting-edge purification system serves as an comprehensive, underground storm water management facility and includes a bay-saver filter that is equipped to improve the quality of the storm water by permanently removing all pollutants before they enter and contaminate public waterways and manage the overall quantity of storm water run-off, providing for sufficient subsurface drainage during severe weather events. Around the perimeter of the field, new concrete stairs, sidewalks, and an ADA ramp was installed, a segmental block retaining wall was added, and new trees were planted along the landscape.

Lewis Contractors has teamed with the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation on nearly a dozen fields over the past ten years to complete installations for similar neighborhoods and remains committed to helping improve the lives of the young people of Baltimore.