New pitch for old Reverchon Ballpark

By David Mullen

The historic first pitch at Reverchon Ballpark took place in the 1920s. The pitch to restore historic Reverchon Ballpark took place in 2021.

Located at Maple Avenue and Turtle Creek Boulevard in Oak Lawn, the 42-acre city park formed in 1915 was named after Julien Reverchon, a French botanist who lived in La Réunion, a Utopian community on the south bank of the Trinity River formed by French, Belgian and Swiss colonists in 1855. Reverchon died in 1903, leaving his farm, herbarium and moniker behind.

After two outside interests were unable to deliver plans to reimagine the space — focusing on turning Reverchon Ballpark into a multi-purpose venue — the City of Dallas and Dallas Park and Recreation joined forces. “We have completed our community engagement meetings,” said Ryan O’Connor, assistant director, Dallas Park and Recreation. “We have also recently completed a community input survey. We are at a point where we plan to brief the Park and Recreation Board on [Thursday] Oct. 7 and talk about some of the options and ask for some direction.”

“We are working [in tandem] 100 percent,” said Calvert Collins-Bratton, Dallas Park and Recreation Board president. After the other bids fell through: “We heard that there was still interest in doing a true historic restoration of the ballfield. We had heard that not only from neighbors but from athletes — baseball players that had played there — that there was still an appetite to do a true restoration. It was about keeping the historic nature intact, keeping the footprint the same and upgrading the field.” 

The last major renovations made to Reverchon Ballpark took place in the 1940s, although some spot upgrades to the grandstand and bathrooms have taken place throughout the years. The current grandstand was built after 1950 (not qualifying for historic status), and the last time lighting was improved was 2007. The basic infrastructure, like plumbing, is either outdated or, as in the case of telecommunications services, nonexistent.   

Early opposition to initial plans included concerns over increased traffic, intrusive lighting and excessive noise. “It has really kind of changed. This isn’t being done in a vacuum,” Collins-Bratton said. “Because the emphasis on this was to hear from all of the stakeholders. Not just the neighbors and not just the players, but the community at large. Those that use and visit the park and the ballfield. We looked for an understanding of what the needs are and what the desires are.” 

In addition to the ballpark, Reverchon Park has walking trails, a recreation center, basketball and tennis courts and is accessible to the young patients at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital. The ballpark was home to SMU Baseball until the program was disbanded in 1980 and is currently the home field for North Dallas High School and several amateur leagues.     

O’Connor is seeking funding partners to help subsidize the project. The plans for the refurbished ballpark are ambitious. Maintaining the existing “footprint” of the ballpark is key, as well as a regrade and resurfacing of the playing field, restoring the bleachers, making seating ADA-compliant, providing limited food services and permanent restrooms for ballpark patrons, adding new dugouts, lighting and a new scoreboard. A long-needed resurfacing and restriping of the parking lot and adding lighting are also in the plans. “There are a lot of variables. But we will be somewhere between $4.5 and $5.5 million,” O’Connor said.

That amount is hardly peanuts.

“This is all about preserving as much of the existing field and footprint and grandstand as possible, while making necessary 21st century enhancements,” Collins-Bratton said. “I think some of the hesitation of the community and the neighbors was that the previous iterations of the project were grander and for professional baseball teams,” O’Connor added. “The message was received pretty clear that this should be a historic restoration project; bringing it up to code and keeping it just for amateur baseball.”

Keeping Reverchon Ballfield as a baseball only facility is the main objective. “This is about staying with the same users.” Collins-Bratton said. “It is just that everything needs a facelift.”

With Fair Park, Klyde Warren Park and other facilities in Dallas set up as a 501c3 and managed in part by outside concerns, the City of Dallas has determined that responsibilities of a remodeled ballpark and continued maintenance will be in their mitts. 

“We learned from the last two RFP processes that there was not much [interest] to have a private operator at that particular park,” Collins-Bratton said. “We have maintained this ballpark, will try to [maintain a new park] and possibly look at a maintenance agreement down the road.” 

“The desire from pretty much everyone was for the city to maintain control of this park,” O’Connor said. “To schedule the games, to take the reservations and to maintain the fields. I will tell you, when we do upgrade this field — being historically sensitive, of course — it should be a little easier than it is now. The current field has a lot of issues. We should be able to maintain the new facility for years to come.”   

No decision has been made on the playing surface, but everyone agrees that without regrading, teams are not on a level playing field. “The consulting team that the city hired will look at what is salvageable and what isn’t and what is historic and what isn’t,” Collins-Bratton said. “We have looked at the playing surface, of course, and have looked at three options. One is leveling the field and keeping natural grass. One is a hybrid, which would be an [artificial] turf infield and grass outfield and then all [artificial] turf.”

A combination artificial turf infield and a grass outfield is not historic but a monumental eyesore. One only needs to remember Chicago’s Comiskey Park from 1969 to 1975 to realize that the grass is greener on the other side.

A task force revealed that there is a need for some food and beverage options, but not a concession stand. Those surveyed were open to a rollup window, but not a full commercial kitchen, air ducts or tap handles. “There was a desire for food trucks and maybe a stand for the PTA to sell prepackaged foods,” Collins-Bratton said. “Security is a concern as well, since we would be investing a lot of money in a new park. We are looking at enhanced lighting, security cameras, better locks, things like that.” Fencing will also be improved.    

Nearby Turtle Creek poses additional concerns for maintaining the ballpark. Drainage has always been an issue. The treelined right field fence is all that separates a batted ball from splashing into the stream. A flood plain study is in the proposal, which can be found at reverchonballfieldrestoration.org. 

God willing and the Turtle Creek don’t rise, work on Reverchon Ballpark will begin sometime in early 2022. “This is not one group dictating the outcome,” Collins-Bratton said. “There are some folks that think this restoration can be done cheaply. Nothing that is a historic restoration can be done cheaply. We are not trying to spend money to spend money. This is about doing something the right way and the right way is not always the cheapest way.”     

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