Ballfields Renamed In Honor Of MD, Howard County's 1st Female County Executive

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Officials have broken ground on the first phase of Howard County's Centennial Park West improvement project, which includes renaming ballfields in honor of Maryland and Howard County's first female county executive.

The improvement project calls for converting three existing grass baseball diamonds (fields #3, #4 and #5) into three artificial turf baseball fields. The ballfields also have been named the “Liz Bobo Fields” in honor of Bobo, who was present for the groundbreaking.

In addition to converting the three grass baseball fields to artificial turf, field #5 also will become a multi-use sports field. These artificial turf fields will available to use year-round. Phase One also includes replacing the ballfield lights with state-of-art LED lighting and weather permitting, should be completed by the fall of 2025.

"Howard County is known for its exceptional parks and engaging recreational programs. In all that we do, we strive to ensure that we are providing all who live, work and play here the best and most welcoming facilities, and these upgrades will allow us to do just that. With these changes, it is an honor that we can recognize County Executive Liz Bobo for all that she has done for our county and state. I am so thankful for her partnership and support throughout the years, and to all who made these improvements possible," Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said at the groundbreaking ceremony.

In 1986, Bobo became Howard County’s first female county executive and the first to be elected to such a position in Maryland's history. She had previously served for eight years as a member of the Howard County Council.

"Centennial Lake is such a beautiful place. My husband, Lloyd and I, take walks around it. We need to realize just how blessed we are to live in a place like this. Not many people get to live in a place as wonderful as this is," Bobo said at the groundbreaking ceremony.

The restroom area at the entrance to the Liz Bobo Fields also will be renovated to include a family restroom with an adult changing station. The playground will be replaced with an updated, modern version that should be ready by the summer of 2025. ADA improvements will continue to be made to walkways and parking lots at the park.

The second phase of the improvement project includes converting two other sports fields into one artificial turf multipurpose field, replacing those fields' current lighting and constructing a new parking area between the multipurpose field and Liz Bobo Fields.