$361,000 to jump-start St. Paul's Oxford rec fields

It's hard to imagine anyone in St. Paul with a longer, stronger tie to the recreation fields at the Oxford Community Center than coach Billy Peterson.

When Peterson graduated from Central High School in 1957, the recreation center across N. Lexington Parkway housed Quonset huts for the U.S. Army. Three years later he returned from service in the U.S. Marine Corps and starting coaching the city's youth in football, baseball, basketball and hockey on the developing fields.

"Oxford has always been the outdoor recreation facility for the community," Peterson said.

It soon will be again because of City Council action on Wednesday.

The fields at the complex, part of which is known as the Jimmy Lee Recreation Center, have been off-limits since March 2010, closed because of high levels of lead unearthed in the early stages of construction of new fields for the recently renovated center. The $15 million renovation brought four gyms and an indoor water park to Oxford. Construction of a synthetic football and soccer field was to be the final jewel in the crown of the city's park system.

Now, after months of delay, the project is plodding ahead. The City Council authorized acceptance of a $361,000 gift from the St. Paul Parks Conservancy for the fields.

The cleanup involved removing 2 feet of dirt from the fields, replacing the 2 feet and adding 2 feet before construction can begin.

The conservancy, created to support the city parks, has a verbal pledge for $20,000, but hopes to raise the rest of the money quickly so the project can be completed, said Leslie Cook, interim director.

The funding is designed to help with cost overruns from the "unpleasant surprise" of the pollution, she said. The money will go toward the finishing touches, including lighting, goal posts, backstops, landscaping and turf. Because the field will be multi-use, it will have a complicated design and markings, Cook said.

"We really need to move this thing along," Cook said, noting the talent that has stepped on those fields includes baseball stars Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor, Jack Morris and Joe Mauer. "It's really been kind of a funnel and proving ground."

"It's going to be fantastic for the neighborhood and for the whole city, especially with the artificial turf," said Peterson, who coached Hall of Famers Winfield and Molitor.

Something of a legend himself -- a ball diamond across the street bears his name -- Peterson was on a bus to St. Louis for a tournament on Wednesday with four dozen kids on inner city ball teams.

Over the years, he has seen how youth sports can help a child develop and form bonds that endure for decades.

"You learn how to get along with people. You learn how to win. You learn how to lose," he said.