Lakeland's latest athletic complex honors the late John Rodda
City officials planned to dedicate the John Rodda Sports Complex at Lake Crago Park on May 10, marking the completion of three multiuse, lighted sports fields and three picnic pavilions as the city's third construction phase at Lake Crago.
Advertisement
The fields are being named after John Rodda, the late founder of Lakeland-based Rodda Construction Inc., who died in 2018. His construction firm was fundamental in the design and construction of several city spaces, including common Ground Park and Peterson Park.
Lakeland's newest athletic complex is named for John Rodda, the late founder of Rodda Construction Inc. who died in 2018. His construction firm was fundamental in the design and construction of several city spaces, including common Ground Park and Peterson Park.
"John [Rodda] did so much for this community and has a true passion for youth sports," said Bob Donahay, the city's director of parks, recreation and cultural arts. "Back in 2018, we knew we wanted to dedicate a facility in his honor, and it's fitting that we now celebrate the grand opening of the John Rodda Sports Complex — a lasting tribute to his spirit and generosity."
The new park includes three multiuse, lighted sports fields and three picnic pavilions as the city's third construction phase at Lake Crago.
Donahay said the fields have been in use by local youth sports programs for about a month at this point. The opening of the field will help provide much needed space, as Lakeland lacks enough field space to meet demands from existing youth programs.
Advertisement
It's hard to drive through Polk without passing a park or building constructed by Rodda and his firm. Some of the structures he's had a hand include Lakeland's Highlands Grove and Bartow's Spessard L. Holland elementary schools and Citrus Ridge Civics Academy in Davenport.
The opening of the field will help provide much needed space, as Lakeland lacks enough field space to meet demands from existing youth programs.
He also built or renovated 30 of the 52 structures on the Florida Southern College campus in Lakeland.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lakeland's latest athletic complex honors the late John Rodda
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
WNBA-to-Boston celebrations premature? League pushes back on CT Sun move after Pagliuca deal
Fans celebrating the arrival of the WNBA to the City of Boston might want to temper their expectations in the short term. Recent reporting from the Boston Globe's Gary Washburn relates that the WNBA itself is throwing cold water on ta potential move of the recently-purchased Connecticut Sun to a new location. Former Boston Celtics minority owner and Bain Capital executive Steve Pagliuca recently purchased the team for a record $325 million, with another $100 million earmarked to build a dedicated practice facility for the team in Boston. But per Washburn, after news of the sale broke this week, the league sent the reporter a release pushing back on a potential move out of the Nutmeg state. "Relocation decisions are made by the WNBA Board of Governors and not by individual teams," related the WNBA to Washburn, also noting that "no groups from Boston applied for a team." This could put a bit of a damper on things, given Pagliuca would be one of the first names for an expansion team in the area, yet the former Celtics owner now finds himself the new owner (pending league approval) of a team the WNBA appears determined to keep in Connecticut. "Nine additional cities also applied for WNBA teams and remain under active consideration. Those other cities remain under consideration based on the extensive work they did as part of the expansion process and currently have priority over Boston," added the league. This course of action may have actually put the city behind the proverbial eight ball, as the WNBA may be looking to avoid following in the footsteps of the NBA with the highly unpopular move of the Seattle SuperSonics to Oklahoma City in the aughts. Interestingly, the release tendered to Washburn also notes that a "prospective Celtics owner has also reached out to the league office and asked that Boston receive strong consideration for a WNBA franchise at the appropriate time." Does this mean the ownership group helmed by Bill Chisholm currently in the process of securing final NBA approval to buy the Boston-based NBA ball club is also the leading group to secure a WNBA team in the same city? At present, details on all of the above are murky, but will likely continue to develop in the coming weeks. Listen to "Havlicek Stole the Pod" on: Spotify: iTunes: YouTube:
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
Legendary Long Island law firm Sullivan-Papain turns 100
They've pleased the court. A Long Island law firm that changed the world using out-of-the-box thinking on everything from smoking to cars to beer at baseball games is celebrating centenarian status this year. 'Everything that you have grown up with and have taken for granted is because of what's happened in this firm over the last 100 years,' New York State Supreme Court Justice Christopher McGrath told The Post of firm Sullivan-Papain, which has recovered north of $2 billion in settlements in the past decade alone. 4 Sullivan-Papain partners Thomas McManus, Eleni Coffinas, John Nash, Nick Papain (back row left to right) and Bob Sullivan (seated) at the law firm's office in Garden City. Dennis A. Clark The judge cut his teeth with the Garden City-based practice as a 23-year-old under the tutelage of its late 5'2″ skinny founder, Harry Lipsig, who was a giant in the legal world 50-something years ago. 'He was just different. He's a genius — and yet, we'll call him a little quirky at the same time,' McGrath said. 'One time, my job was to meet him at his apartment at seven in the morning. The train got me in late at 7:05, and he said, 'Good afternoon.' ' Lipsig's high standards weren't without reason. He used a mix of sheer brilliance and common sense to change how the world operated; perhaps most notably, starting with how stadiums sold beer 80 years ago, after a man at a New York Giants baseball game got belted in the head with a glass bottle at the old Polo Grounds. 4 Harry Lipsig was a founding partner of the 100-year-old firm. Dennis A. Clark 'The Polo Grounds was saying it wasn't their fault. … 'We can't put a police officer in every other seat. We can't have everybody stop anybody from throwing something down,' ' recalled senior partner Bob Sullivan. During the three-day trial, Lipsig, who passed away in 1989 at age 89, brought a mysterious handheld paper bag into court with him each day and left it sealed on the table. 'When he got to summation, he pulled out a paper cup and he said, 'This is how you stop it.' … That's how that came to be in stadiums all across the country,' Sullivan said. 4 Senior partner Bob Sullivan recalls the creative way Lipsig was able to win a case against the old Polo Grounds stadium. Dennis A. Clark On a case-by-case basis The novel way of thinking that Lipsig was known for — he once won a shark-bite case by proving the victim's hotel wasn't dumping its garbage far enough at sea and drew in the predators — has been passed down generation to generation. New York state recruited Sullivan-Papain in its lawsuit against smoking companies in the late 1990s, which yielded an end to cigarette ads and $25 billion in recovery locally. 'The genius was that we didn't represent the smokers, we represented the nonsmokers,' Sullivan said. 'Your taxes, what you pay for Medicare, Medicaid, for all these people who got sick and were dying of cancer, went through the roof. That was the key point.' 4 Partner Nick Papain was involved in a case that helped make cars safer. Dennis A. Clark Ironically, most of the firm's team on the case was hooked on nicotine. 'Every hour, we would take a 10-minute break so the lawyers could go out and smoke,' said partner Nicholas Papain, a lawyer who led to changes in how cars are built. He was involved in several cases of people who got into accidents by unintentionally hitting the gas rather than the brake when first getting into their cars. Ultimately, the high-volume litigation led to automakers keeping gearshifts locked unless a driver's foot was on the brake. The firm has also branched out into medical malpractice and represented the FDNY for four decades, with partner Eleni Coffinas saying cancer patients often find emotional strength in court victories. Sullivan-Papain has done an estimated $40 million in pro bono work for the families of first responders on 9/11, too. 'I think it speaks to that firm culture, philosophy, that is a big reason why it has been around for 100 years,' said managing partner TJ McManus, who added that it is common for new workers to hear of Lipsig's legend during their first week on the job. 'I think he set certain parameters and a legacy that is followed all the way through to today.'
USA Today
6 hours ago
- USA Today
Sleep on Austin Bashi\u00a0at your own risk after UFC on ESPN 71
LAS VEGAS – Austin Bashi met the media Saturday after his first-round submission win over John Yannis at UFC on ESPN 71. Yannis (9-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) stepped in on short notice to take on the highly touted Bashi (14-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and was a big underdog at the UFC Apex. Bashi showed why when he got his first UFC win with a standing rear-naked choke with about 90 seconds left in the opening round. Bashi was supposed to fight Francis Marshall for his sophomore UFC outing until Marshall pulled out not long before the event. The 23-year-old Michigan-based featherweight said all he cared about was making sure he stayed on the card – and didn't care who the opponent was going to be. Bashi was a heavy favorite when he came through and earned a contract on DWCS this past September. He then was expected to make a splash in his official UFC debut when he took on Christian Rodriguez in January. But as a 3-1 favorite, Bashi dropped a decision for the first loss of his MMA career. He said that experience helped set him up for Saturday's win – and what he wants to happen going forward. 'After that last fight, I saw who my true supporters were, and I saw who was sleeping on me – and there were a bunch of people sleeping on me,' Bashi said at his post-fight news conference. 'This was to prove something to myself – not really to the world, but to prove something to myself how hungry I am and how bad I really want it.' Check out Bashi's post-fight news conference in the video above.
