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Kokomo Wins Turf War With The Feds Over Baseball Stadium

Joe Hren
/
http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/

A major hurdle that could have kept Kokomo’s new baseball team from playing in their home stadium is being removed.

FEMA and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security are approving the city’s plan to put turf on the baseball field.

The decision comes in the midst of a legal dispute over the use of FEMA flood mitigation grants.

FEMA alleges Kokomo is not allowed to build a baseball stadium on six parcels of land it bought with federal grants because the areas were supposed to be kept as green spaces.

Two of those parcels are in what will become the outfield, so Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight says the city was waiting on FEMA to put in the turf.

“The fact that they gave it more due diligence and extra scrutiny, to us in some ways it does legitimize our design plan and the entire project,” he says.

FEMA and the City of Kokomo are still negotiating the use of the four other land parcels that are outside the main stadium area and were originally going to be used for restrooms and a picnic area.