Grant Bowl Planning Project

  • Grant Bowl Area Map

    The Grant Bowl Master Planning project was undertaken to explore considerations for adding lights, bleachers and two regulation softball fields in addition to the existing sports fields in the Grant Bowl. Some of the goals include the ability to host Grant Football games on a home field and support Grant’s softball team at the school, rather than remote locations. The addition of lighting will make both these possible by extending use time and make the bowl safer for students and the community. On February 25, 2020 the Board of Education approved Phase One of the Grant Bowl Master Plan. Phase One includes adding an OSAA regulation softball field to the upper turf field at Grant High School. Click here for more information about the Grant Athletics Upper Fields project. Phase 2 of the approved alternative plan - a full upgrade to the Grant Bowl – has no identified funding source at this time.

    The project is a partnership ½ûÂþÌìÌà and Portland Parks and Recreation.

    For more information about the Grant Bowl Project and school building improvements, contact: 503-916-2222 or email schoolmodernization@pps.net

     

    View the Grant Bowl FAQ

  • Stay Informed

    The Grant Bowl Project Update
    On Tuesday, February 25th, the ½ûÂþÌìÌà Board of Education approved the Grant Bowl Master Plan. The Master Plan report presented two options; a base option keeping all activities in the bowl and an alternate option which places a competitive softball field in the upper field at Grant. The alternate option was conceived to be completed in two phases. The first being the construction of the softball field and the second the improvements to the Grant Bowl. View the approved Master Plan here

    The Alternative Master Plan was developed together with the community and a design advisory group. Notes and comments from the Advisory group and community meetings are found on this page.

    School Board approval provided direction and funding to complete Phase One of the Alternate plan, constructing a softball field in the upper field at Grant High School. In order to support both baseball and softball in this location, field lighting is part of the project. Phase One is being funded out of the 2012 School Building Improvement Bond. Phase Two will need to seek funding from other sources. 

    The Grant Upper field improvement is a joint project between ½ûÂþÌìÌÃ, Portland Parks and Recreation, Portland Interscholastic League and the Grant Park community.

    The Grant Bowl Project Summary
    The Grant Bowl project is independent of the Grant modernization project that was completed in 2019. It was durng the Grant modernization that ½ûÂþÌìÌà began work on addressing the needs of Grant athletics not addressed in modernization work.  Meetings were held during that time about various options to address these concerns and an independent planning process with its own timeline and funding was begun.

    Project Goals
    The overall goal of the Grant Bowl project is to provide a safe, and well-functioning sports facility to support softball and other sports at Grant, through the addition of lights, bleachers, and infrastructure to host athletic practices and games. Grant is one of the few schools in Oregon that is not able to host home games due to the nature of the fields.

    Important facts about the athletic fields used by Grant:

    • Unlike other ½ûÂþÌìÌà high schools Grant has a limited field area for its athletics programs.
    • The Grant bowl, where many Grant teams practice/play is owned by Portland Parks and Recreation (PP&R).
    • The modernization of the school did not include additional funding for redeveloping the Grant Bowl. The modernization did include improvements to the upper field which is jointly owned and shared by ½ûÂþÌìÌà and PP&R.
    • Grant is the only 6A high school in the state that cannot host home games because of the lack of lighting.

    Project Team

    is the design team for the Grant Bowl Master Planning project. Bora has a strong background in designing creative functional and sustainable learning environments. They designed the Faubion PK-8 School that was funded through the 2012 Bond and opened in 2017.

  • Project History

    Recap of the Grant Bowl project to date
    In 2010, the Friends of Grant Athletics (FOGA), ½ûÂþÌìÌà (½ûÂþÌìÌÃ) and Portland Parks and Recreation (PP&R) came together to launch an initiative to improve the playing conditions at the Grant Bowl. The group hired Dull Olson Weeks Architects (DOWA) and Atlas Landscape Design to undertake a design process that concluded in 2011. Their design included new artificial turf fields, a resurfaced track and other park improvements. Those track and field improvements were completed in 2013. Their design did not include lights or bleachers, making it more difficult, to host spectators at sporting events. To date Grant is not able to host home football or soccer games, the school plays these games off-site.

    During the modernization of Grant, the Hollyrood field was originally identified the site for a renovated softball field. It was later determined this would not adequately support the needs of Grant softball. Following a robust engagement process, the community voiced support to improve the Grant Bowl to better support Grant Athletics including softball.  The Board of Education voted to begin the design process improve the facilities in the bowl to that end.  This Grant Bowl Master Planning workshop is the next step in that process.

    Grant Fields Update Winter 2019
    On October 9, 2018 ½ûÂþÌìÌà Board of Education held a work session to review a number of available options to provide a softball field adjacent to Grant High School. These options are available in the Grant field options summary.  A recommendation was then developed in partnership with Grant High School’s administration, the softball and baseball coaches, and with Portland Parks & Recreation. The recommendation is to make improvements to the existing Grant Bowl, creating a multi-use field that will accommodate softball in addition to the currently supported programs such as football, and track & field. All available options for placing softball adjacent to Grant HS are on property owned by Portland Parks & Recreation.  Therefore, we will be working in close partnership with PP&R to define the project scope, requirements, and implementation of a successful project plan.