Seattle Public Schools will host a public meeting this weekend to present options and gather feedback on a proposed athletic field for Lincoln High School at Lower Woodland Park (1000 N 50th St).
The meeting is scheduled for Saturday, April 25, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Hamilton International Middle School, with livestream and on-demand viewing options available, according to Seattle Public Schools (SPS).
The project is funded through the voter-approved Buildings, Technology, and Academics/Athletics Capital Levy (BTA V), approved in 2022. District materials state that the goal is to build a full-size athletic field for Lincoln students, as the school is currently the only high school in the district without its own field or track.
SPS has identified two potential locations at Woodland Park: one at Lower Woodland Field #2 and another near North 50th Street and Aurora Avenue North. The district says it will present its evaluation of these options and collect feedback before making a final decision in coordination with Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR).
District materials note that the project must meet several requirements, including being walkable from Lincoln High School, providing regulation-size play for sports such as soccer and football, and minimizing impacts related to trees, parking, and permitting.
The effort to build a field has been ongoing for several years. Earlier planning focused on Wallingford Playfield, but that option was paused following community feedback, with the district shifting its focus to Woodland Park.
As Fremont Neighbor reports, community groups have organized around different approaches to the project.
Build Lincoln Field, a coalition of families advocating for a new field, has called for moving the project forward after several years without a finalized plan or construction timeline, citing the need for improved facilities for student athletes. The group has created an online petition to present to SPS and SPR.
Meanwhile, Friends of Lower Woodland Park has expressed support for what it describes as “Option C,” which would distribute field use across multiple locations, preserve existing infrastructure, and reduce impacts such as tree removal and construction disruption.
Advocates of that approach say it would upgrade an existing field while adding a new one in a different part of the park, to balance school use and broader public access.
Seattle Public Schools says community input gathered at the April 25 meeting and through an eventual online survey will help inform the final decision on the project.
Photo: Lower Woodland Park / Google Image Capture 2025