GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Crews are finishing up the removal of the three Northern Little League fields at Riverside Park in Grand Rapids.
All that remained Thursday was a scoreboard, a concessions stand and a small storage shed.
Northern is merging Northeastern Little League after being a fixture for decades at the north end of the park , which sits between the Grand River and Monroe Avenue stretching from Knapp Street to I-96.
Margo Mollan is a Little League parent and played at the Riverside fields as a child.
“It’s really emotional to see the fences torn up and the scoreboards gone. We just spent so much time here and made so many memories here as kids,” Mollan said. “My grandpa was the league president here for probably nine or 10 years in the (19)60s and ’70s. He coached here. My uncles played and coached here.”
Current league President Brenda Hastings said deciding to merge with the Northeastern wasn’t an easy decision.
“Change is hard and I hope that the community will understand that we did not make this decision lightly. It is not one that we wanted to make,” she said.