Proposal: Gibson Field in Youngstown to become Soap Box Derby track

YOUNGSTOWN —The Greater Youngstown Area Soap Box Derby is looking for a new place to call home.

The derby’s board is asking city officials to allow it to spend about $250,000 to take the largely vacant Gibson Field and turn it into a Soap Box Derby track by 2010 if all goes according to plan, said Andy Bowell Jr, the board’s president.

The proposal has received positive response from the city’s park and recreation commission and Councilwoman Janet Tarpley, D-6th. The field is in the 6th Ward on the city’s South Side.

There is one hitch for now, however.

The board doesn’t have the money to build the track.

Once city officials give the go-ahead, the board will work to raise the money needed, Bowell said.

The board has people interested in donating money to the effort and will seek grant money, he said.

Tarpley will have a meeting at 5 p.m. Friday to receive public input on the derby proposal. The meeting will be at Gibson Field on Gibson Street.

The baseball fields there now are rarely used, Tarpley said.

For the complete story, read Wednesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.