ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Calvin Ball today joined Department of Recreation & Parks Director Nick Mooneyhan to officially open the three newly renovated artificial turf, lighted baseball diamonds at Centennial Park – West in Ellicott City. With the opening, Ball also unveiled the new fields have been named “A. Raul Delerme Fields,” in honor of the long-time Howard County Government employee. Photos from the event can be found on the County’s Flickr website.
Centennial Park has long been recognized as the jewel of Howard County. With its four distinct park areas, scenic lake loop, and wide range of recreational opportunities, it continues to attract visitors from across the region. As more residents and visitors enjoy everything this park has to offer, we remain committed to investing in improvements that enhance accessibility, recreation, and the overall visitor experience. Moreover, we remain committed to ensuring that every kid has the opportunity to play ‘America’s favorite pastime’ and be a part of a sport that has positively impacted the lives of so many, like Raul.
Centennial Park’s west area opened nearly 40 years ago and continues to grow in popularity with its ball fields, basketball courts, hiking trails, playground, and more. The transformation of the three grass and dirt baseball diamonds into state-of-the-art artificial turf fields with lighting will expand opportunities for play and extend the seasons in which these fields can be used.
“These new artificial turf fields will provide increased recreational opportunities for local athletes while also strengthening Howard County’s ability to host regional and national sports tournaments,” said Mooneyhan. “With synthetic surfaces and updated lighting, organizers can schedule events with greater confidence, knowing weather-related disruptions can be minimized and field availability significantly increased.”
The fields have been named in honor of Deputy Chief Administrative Officer A. Raul Delerme, who began his career with the County in 1990 as a park planner and engineering specialist in Recreation & Parks. In addition to being a park planner, during his tenure with the department, Raul also served as Park Planning & Construction, Bureau Chief of Capital Projects, and Director. In these roles, he helped create places where children play, families gathered, neighbors connect, and memories are made. These places include building three community centers and the Meadowbrook Athletic Complex, creating three new regional parks, and providing a greater variety of amenities within each park.
I am incredibly grateful and honored to have these fields bear my name. Throughout my career with Howard County, I have had the privilege of helping create spaces that bring people together, places where children can play, families can gather, neighbors can connect, and lifelong memories can be made. This recognition is especially meaningful because it reflects the collective efforts of so many dedicated colleagues, partners, and community members who have shared in making these accomplishments possible. May these field always be a place where kids play hard, dream big, and love the game of baseball and softball.
With the completion of three baseball fields, Recreation & Parks is continuing with its improvement project at Centennial Park – West, with the conversion of two grass multipurpose fields into one large, grass multipurpose field with lights. The transformation of this multipurpose field will create a premier venue capable of accommodating a wide range of sports and community activities. Additionally, the restroom facilities adjacent to the ballfields will be updated, which includes the addition of a family restroom equipped with an adult changing station. Centennial Park will now join the department’s Blandair Regional Park in Columbia, Troy Park at Elkridge, and Western Regional Park in Woodbine which also feature adult changing tables.
These park improvements to Centennial Park – West were made possible thanks to a strong partnership with state representatives. Together, state and local investments in Centennial Park total more than $10 million during the past four years.
“The kids who get to play here will learn how to be a part of something that is bigger than themselves, how to work hard for something, how to win with grace and lose with dignity, how to get back up again after they stumble, how to strike out but not give up. Those are lessons that carry far beyond these beautiful new fields,” said Dan Hedgecock, Coach, Columbia Baseball League.
In addition to these park upgrades, Recreation & Parks has also completed a series of other projects across Centennial Park since Ball took office in December 2018, to beautify, enhance, and make the park more accessible to all visitors, including:
- Installed lighting on the basketball courts in the west area;
- Replaced two bridges and sections of pathway for smoother walks, runs, and bike rides;
- Opened an inclusive playground, added a sensory-friendly trail loop that includes musical features, sensory panels and play equipment, renovated the tennis courts, and constructed an age-friendly fitness lot featuring 10 pieces of cardio and strength training equipment in the north area; and
- Widened the pathways, added a new accessible parking lot, finished restroom renovations, and added an accessible kayak launch in the parks south area.
About Centennial Park:
Centennial Park was established in 1987 with a vision to create an environment where anyone and everyone could visit to play, hike, boat and come together as a community. At nearly 340 acres, visitors to Centennial Park can enjoy walking, running or biking on a 2.6-mile paved pathway, boating or fishing on a 54-acre man-made lake, and playing recreational volleyball, basketball, tennis, racquetball and baseball/softball in designated areas throughout the park.
For more information on Centennial Park, visit Recreation & Parks’ “Parks, Playgrounds & Trails” webpage.