C. Ray Buck Sports Park

In 1994, Grandview Heights received a $375,000 NatureWorks grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to purchase 5 acres of ground from American Electric Power (AEP) on Goodale Boulevard. The land, a Brownfields site and used as a parking lot for AEP employees, was officially purchased in 1995, developed in 1996, and opened as a park in 1997. In 2001, a Land and Water Conservation Fund grant for $105,000 was received by Grandview Heights for the construction of the concession, restroom, and storage facility. The facility opened in May 2003.  

Cecil (C.) Ray Buck (1927-2010) served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, was a member of Grandview Heights City Council from 1973 to 1980 (president for the last six years), and belonged to numerous local organizations. Buck was a 42-year employee of AEP and instrumental in negotiating AEP’s sale  of the land on Goodale Boulevard to Grandview Heights for the park. 

 

Program from the October 1996 dedication of the 5-acre park; cover design by Grandview Heights resident Mike Dexter. At the ceremony, the deed to the land was formally presented by the President of AEP Ohio to Grandview Heights and the park was dedicated in Buck's honor. 

Playground at C. Ray Buck Sports Park was installed on a rubber pavement for safety.