Just in time for summer, the Grand Traverse County Civic Center is sporting renovations to ballfields and bathrooms, new seating, and improvements to sidewalks. More are on the way, according to Grand Traverse County Parks and Recreation Director John Chase. Meanwhile, performing arts groups will be taking advantage of the Civic Center's amphitheater for concerts this summer.

“The biggest thing is the ballfields,” Chase says of the recent renovations, which boast new dugouts that are universally accessible. That’s thanks to the work of non-profit Dream Team Northern Michigan. “The dugouts were six by 24, and now they’re 10 by 30 with a roof and gates on either side,” says Chase.

“At the same time we added curb cuts to the sidewalk to the parking lot and replaced seating in the plaza. Now it’s easier to get from the parking lot to the field. The Dream Team played its first game (last) Saturday and it was fantastic,” he says.

The Dream Team formed to assist those age 8 to 26 with physical or cognitive disabilities enjoy the Great American Pastime for themselves. A group of parents and special-needs educators established a baseball league in 2015. Thanks to fundraising in excess of $200,000, the group was able to provide the new dugouts. Dayna Ryan, a member of the non-profit, spearheaded the fundraising. “We were and are grateful to use fields 2 and 3, but we realized the dugouts were not accessible,” she says.

Ryan says the result enables the league players to more easily use the facilities, but they’re not alone. “This is not just about the Dream Team. It will benefit all user groups,” she says.

The 45-acre Civic Center borders Front Street on the north, Fair Street on the east, Titus Avenue just north of Eighth Street on the south, and runs roughly parallel to Garfield Avenue on the west, though not bordering it. In addition to the ballfields and one-mile track, it includes a natural amphitheater, a pavilion, outdoor basketball courts, a skate park, an outdoor playground, a pool, Howe Arena, and meeting room space.

Chase says other renovations this year included nearby restrooms and an interior restroom and changing room, which was remodeled into a family restroom. “They’re brighter, cleaner and updated,” Chase says. More such work is planned for the future. “We still have some (restrooms) on the south end that need work.”

Chase says other work in process includes renovating the park’s one-mile walking track. The county was recently awarded a Michigan Spark grant to replace the track and bridge, covering nearly all the estimated $1.1 million cost. Chase says the project is in the engineering and design phase, with bids anticipated this fall and construction to begin next year. He says the current studies may result in some intermittent closures of portions of the track for soil testing and other procedures.

The upgrades will make the track and its fitness stations more user-friendly, Chase says, as will the paving and striping of the parking lot. Though the lot size will remain unchanged, the improvements will increase its efficiency, and in effect provide more parking.

Another change is in the use of the amphitheater. With the demise of theater group Parallel 45, other entities have stepped in. Traverse City Philharmonic Executive Director Dr. Kedrick Merwin says when Parallel 45 disbanded, the Philharmonic was able to acquire the large saddlespan tent owned by the group, which covers the stage area at the amphitheater.

The Phil will again be performing at the Civic Center Amphitheater, with shows July 11, 18 and 25. Merwin says the three shows – “Songs of Hollywood,” with the TC Jazz Band and Jazz Singers; “Bridgerton Meets Amadeus,” with a string quartet and Music and Artistic Director Kevin Rhodes on piano; and “Fantasy and Sci-Fi Night,” with Rhodes at the podium conducting the Traverse City Philharmonic – will provide audiences with a variety of classic and popular fare. “We’re excited to be at the Civic Center,” says Merwin.

That is not the only music coming to the Civic Center. Concert promoter Tim Scully has organized summer concert series at Cadillac, Manistee, Elberta and elsewhere across West Michigan for years. When he learned that Parallel 45 would no longer be using the amphitheater, he immediately contacted Chase and reserved it for Saturdays.

The resulting Civic Center Picnic Showcase will feature regional groups and local performers, starting June 15 with the Olivia Van Goor Quartet and concluding Aug. 31 with Beth Bombara. In between are soul, funk, jazz, rock and singer/songwriter performers. “When I heard Parallel 45 wasn’t doing it, I said I’ll try it,” says Scully.

He’s marketing the shows as a picnic complete with music. Attendees are free to bring in chairs, coolers and food (“No glass bottles,” he notes) and other picnic necessities.