Kilbourne Run Sports Park

Kilbourne Run Sports Park’s improvements were developed to meet the demands of the rapidly growing youth sports market in central Ohio area and in the surrounding regions. Located at 4625 Westerville Road in Columbus, Kilbourne Run Sports Park stretches over 62 acres, which includes 35 acres dedicated to soccer fields. Currently, the park provides 16 fields of various sizes, gravel parking lots, an open air shelter and a connector trail that leads to the Alum Creek Greenway. With over 38,000 participants on average per year, this sports park has become one of central Ohio’s busiest soccer facilities. In 2022, the city determined Kilbourne Run Sports Park deserved significant investment to improve the community’s access to prime soccer facilities.

In July 2022, Mayor Andrew J. Ginther announced this exciting renovation to fulfill the Community Sports Park agreements with the Columbus Crew. This investment will establish Kilbourne Run as one of the premier sports parks in central Ohio and a distinguished regional park to the 81,000+ residents living within a 10-minute drive from the park.

Park Improvements

Kilbourne Run Sports Park is part of the Community Sports Park project, which makes significant investments in sports facilities across the city. The additional park and facilities investments that make up the project will provide Columbus residents access to a variety of recreational opportunities.

Championship Stadium and Field

The Championship Stadium and Field is located in the center of the park. Entrances to the stadium can be accessed through gates located on the south, west and north sides of the championship stadium & field. The championship field includes a 75 x 115 yds high-performance synthetic turf field with scoreboard and flags situated in the southeast corner. At night, the stadium field can be illuminated by LED sports lighting. Patrons can watch sports events on the championship field from the stadium bleachers which hold a capacity of 867 spectators. The stadium is a 6,700 square foot building that includes several amenities. A field access tunnel is located in the middle of the stadium building on the first floor as well as a multipurpose room, Team A and Team B changing rooms & team restrooms, officials changing room, public restrooms, and a park concessions. The second floor has a press box room, a PA & scoreboard operator room, a private restroom, and a video terrace. The second floor can be accessed by private access stairs or elevator.

Pedestrian Plaza

The pedestrian plaza is the main access corridor to the stadium and artificial turf fields. The plaza has a walkway to access the fields with open areas for vendor and tournament tents for patrons to utilize. The east side of the plaza ends at the east playground, shelter and restrooms. The west side of the plaza ends at the central shelter and food truck vendor area. The food truck vendor area can accommodate space for up to four vendor trucks with electric hookups during events at the park. A water bottle refilling station and fountain is also located at the east restroom and the central shelter.

5 Full-Size Artificial Turf Fields

Besides the Championship Field, the park has 5 additional full-size (70 x 110 yds) high-performance synthetic turf fields, which will also be striped to accommodate 9v9 play. Each field can be illuminated by Musco’s state of the art LED sport lighting. The perimeter of the artificial fields will have a 6’ tall vinyl-coated chainlink fencing with backstop netting behind each goal.

4 Full-Size Natural Grass Fields with Irrigation

The west side of the park will have 4 full size (65 x 110 yds) natural grass fields. These fields will be irrigated.

Park Entrance

Accessibility to and from the park has been an issue in the past. A study was done to determine what are the best improvements for access and safety for the entrance to the park. The entrance to the park has been moved north along Westerville Road and will now align with Westerville Woods Road. A single lane roundabout with pedestrian access will be added as part of the improvements.

Parking

The improvements to the park will increase the parking to 1050 public parking spaces including 20 ADA handicap parking spaces. The park will also include 20 bike racks located throughout the park. Security lighting and wayfinding within the parking lot will help patrons to their cars.

Trails & Greenways

Linden Greenway

A portion of the Linden Greenway runs through the park. The Linden Greenway is a 7-mile-long abandoned rail corridor running North-South in the inner city of Columbus, Ohio. Starting near downtown at Windsor Place and reaching to Copper Park on the city’s north side, The Greenway bisects the heart of South Linden, North Linden, and Northland communities. The Linden Green Line will transform this 7-mile corridor into a vibrant 58-acre linear park and trail, accessible to over 131,000 people who live within minutes of walking and cycling distance.

Alum Creek Greenway Connector Trail

The Alum Creek connector trail provides local residents access to Alum Creek Trail. The current connector trail within the property is located on the southern side of the park. The improvements will relocate a portion of the connector trail to cross Westerville Road at the roundabout and continue east along Westerville Woods Road to the Alum Creek Greenway.

Kilbourne Run Sports Park’s Loop Trail

The perimeter of the park has a 8’-10’ wide multi-use loop trail for the park’s patrons. The 1.15-mile trail connects to the Linden Greenline and the Alum Creek Greenway Connector Trails.

Playgrounds, Shelter, and Bathrooms

West Playground, Shelter and Restroom

The west side playground, shelter and restroom are located by the natural grass fields. The playground has dedicated equipment for children 2-5 years old. The restroom will include a men’s, women’s, and family restroom. The shelter will be a 40’ x 52’ structure with 10 tables and seating to accommodate park patrons.

East Playground, Shelter and Restroom

The east side playground, shelter and restroom are located at the east end of the pedestrian plaza. The playground has dedicated equipment for children 5-12 years old. The playground will also include a dedicated area for 2 gaga pits and 1 P6Ball. P6Ball is a fast-moving playground game that engages an infinite number of people at the same time and provides a fun way to get the recommended 60 minutes of exercise every day. Gaga ball is a variant of the classic playground sport dodgeball. However, instead of running around throwing balls that can smack kids in the face, head, and other sensitive body parts, gaga ball limits the impact. Players slap or hit the ball, aiming to hit other players at or below the knees. If you’re hit, you’re out. The last player in the pit is the winner. The game is relatively inclusive, since kids don’t need to be able to run fast, and smaller kids may even have an advantage over taller ones.

The restroom will include a men’s, women’s, and family restroom. The shelter will be a 40’ x 52’ structure with 10 tables and seating to accommodate park patrons.

History

Kilbourne Run Sports Park is located at 4625 Westerville Road Columbus, Ohio. In 1980, the Northern Columbus Athletic Association (NCAA) bought the land to operate a volunteer run programs at the property. Programs included soccer academy, youth leagues, recreational academy, adult leagues, TOPSoccer (outreach program for children and young adults with physical and mental disabilities), referee training, and club soccer. Over the years, the Northern Columbus Athletic Association knew they needed some major improvements to the site.

Kilbourne Run stream is a tributary to Alum Creek located south of West Spring Run and flowing east for 2.6 miles through Minerva Park and Columbus to discharges into Alum Creek. A portion of Kilbourne Run stream is located north of the park. In 2001 and 2006, the city of Columbus purchased the two properties from M/I Schottenstein Homes where Kilbourne Run stream is located and created the Kilbourne Run Conservation Area. In August 2007, the city of Columbus purchased the NCAA property as well as the three frontage properties along Westerville Road. In 2022, the city also purchased the old railroad property from BZ investors for the future Linden Greenway. In 2024, the city of Columbus purchased the property south of the park from Columbus & Southern Power. These properties will be apart the new Kilbourne Run Sports Park.