Lodi Sinkhole Has High-School Football Teams Scrambling For New Venue
By Kelly Ryan
LODI (CBS13) — A sinkhole on a popular sports field in Lodi has local high-school football teams scrambling to find a venue they can use.
It was discovered early this week when a worker called the parks and recreation department wondering just what he had found.
"It's something I've never seen before," Mike Reese said.
He was called out to the Grape Bowl, a popular sports field the Lodi High School football team and youth leagues have used for years. He found an area of the activity turf morphed into a sinkhole.
Crews discovered a leak was coming from a two-inch pipe that runs to the jug fillers teams use to get water during games. Now the rush is on to fix the sinkhole just days before the busy fall sports schedule where teams are counting on playing on this field.
But for now, no games.
The city of Lodi says it doesn't know when it will get the hole fixed, saying it will take time finding the right engineers.
Kelly Flesher hopes the city makes it a priority so the kids can get back in the game and back on the field.
"Obviously the Grape Bowl is important for this community, so I hope this issue gets resolved and the kids can play there. it's a long-standing tradition," she said.
The city says it could be anywhere from four to six weeks, but it is now considering letting football teams play by barricading the area in some way to get kids on the field but keep them safe from the hazard.
