Fido Field is not a dog park, but it
is a treat of a comeback story. Just east of downtown on the Ohio River, the Field is a labor of love for the enthusiastic dog owners who made it possible, through a combination of hard work, fundraising and, yes, doggone determination.
The Field, which officially opened in February, has been in the works in one way or another since 2006. The space can't be called a park because it is privately funded and not maintained by the Cincinnati Park Board. It was, however, originally a city project. As the economic mood darkened, a downtown dog play space slipped further down the budget priority list. In fact, it took a couple of tenacious dog lovers to move Fido Field out of the blueprint stage and into reality.
Craig Beachler has been involved since the beginning. When he moved to Cincinnati from Philadelphia for a job at P&G in 2005, Beachler wanted to live downtown. But he wasn't sure of its dog-friendliness. Beachler decided to move downtown anyway, but after Fountain Square was renovated, he no longer had an open, public place to walk his dog downtown. So, he and a few others decided to try to create a more dog-focused, dog-friendly place within walking distance.
Beachler formed an ad hoc committee and met with city leaders to discuss the options. At the first meeting for the dog park, around 30 people showed up. After a few more meetings, a site on Eggelston Avenue was found and the city architect drew up plans, but not long after, the economy began its decline and the plans to create a dog park were no longer a priority.
The city did hand over the plans for the dog park, but with a proposed budget of more than $300,000, and no source of funding, the chance of a downtown dog park looked slim. Beachler, along with Chris Wiedeman and Mick Foster, led the discussion about creating the park in 2007, but after some differences in opinions, Beachler stepped away from the project and didn't go back to it for two years.
In 2009, Beachler ran in to Wiedeman on the street and asked him about the progress on the park. Very little money had been raised, so Beachler decided to help out again. Beachler had started a pub crawl in downtown Cincinnati to entice some of his P&G coworkers, who lived in the suburbs, into the heart of the city. In its third year in 2009, the pub crawl raised money for City Gospel Mission by charging attendees a fee, in exchange for bar specials. Beachler decided in 2010,
Balls Around the Block, as it was named by its first participants, would raise money for the proposed dog park. In 2010, the BATB raised $7,500. More importantly, it brought attention to the dog park.
The budget for the dog recreation area on Eggelston Avenue was still over $300,000, so Beachler became the project manager and revised the budget. He began writing letters to businesses and friends in an attempt to raise money. By this time, Beachler no longer worked for P&G, but sent some friends there a letter. He was rewarded with a $50,000 check for the project. After donating that much money, the naming rights were given to P&G -- and the name
Fido Field stuck.
With enough money to start construction, Beachler started researching other city dog parks in Chicago and San Francisco, and found that many of them use gravel. The gravel base prevents mud in Fido Field and is also more viable from an economic standpoint. The stones don't need to be watered and require much less upkeep than grass.
"There is one downside, which is that some dogs don't like the gravel," Beachler says. "I think a lot of that has to do with dog owners. If they let their dogs try it for a while, they'll get used to it."
Beachler got bids for the construction of Fido Field. A local contractor, Rack Construction, did the necessary grating and laying of gravel for around $27,000, and a fence was put up by EADS Fence Company. It was a start, but Fido Field needed a way to accept donations. So through the Downtown Residents Council, which is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, Fido Field now accepts donations through the Greater Cincinnati Foundation. While the BATB raises funds once a year for Fido Field, Beachler and his team accept donations at anytime.
Having the part is a great boon for urban dog-owners, but with such a great new outlet comes new responsibilities. Erin Kidwell started helping Beachler with the project because she knew it would make Downtown Cincinnati a place more people would want to live.
"I'm ridiculously pro-downtown," Kidwell says. "People would tell me they couldn't move downtown because they owned a dog. Well, now they can."
Kidwell acts as communication director and a volunteer and Tiphanie Hodges has come on to help with special events. Next up for the Fido Field team is to raise money to install benches in the park, which are the most commonly requested amenity so far. "I think this helps to restore faith in downtown as a community," Beachler says. "You really can live, work and play down here."
Follow Evan Wallis on Twitter
All Photos by Scott Beseler