WHY IT MATTERS
My kids participate in football, dive, gymnastics, and track and field, and for each of these athletic practices they get sent all over the city, which makes for long commute times and substantial pre-planning. These transportation burdens impact access for all kids, especially when there is no school bus or when the school bus leaves Lincoln several hours after school ends. Lincoln students deserve better access to local practice spaces like Woodland Park. Please prioritize these fields so our students aren’t stuck in traffic every day trying to get to or from practice.
MC, LHS Parent
Having a track & field is important to me because I run cross country and track, and when the track team needs to do a track workout, we have to go all the way to Ingraham track and wait until the Ingraham team is done.
Sadler Golden, LHS Class of 2029
My daughter was a sophomore at Lincoln High School the year after Covid, the year everything shut down. Entering a large high school where students merge from several neighborhoods is not easy, especially when your first year was lost to a pandemic. She faced another hurdle, her younger brother was starting at Lincoln the same year, as a Freshman. My daughter, who had previously played with one of Seattle’s premier soccer leagues, decided she’d try out for the Lincoln women’s program in the Fall as a way to meet new people and rekindle friendships lost the year of Covid. With no field space, her team was forced to practice early mornings before school, this was back when Lincoln’s gym wasn’t finished from the remodel, so locker rooms and showers weren’t available to the girls. It sucked. Getting up at 6am for practice, then rushing home to shower and then rushing to get to school on time was too much. She stopped playing soccer. Then she stopped going to school. Then she locked herself in her room most days. It was awful. Her brother joined the football team that summer before school started. Best decision of his life. He made amazing friendships that he carried through high school into his college years. The boys didn’t have a field, but they took school buses, public buses and sometimes the ‘mom’ van which fit 10 passengers. That was lucky because not every parent had the flexibility to drive their kids to a practice field in the middle of the afternoon or home at 9:30 pm. One of his really talented friends left Lincoln to join a school with a practice field and a real track. That ‘kid’ is now attending college on a Field & Track scholarship. I share these stories because they matter. Sports and being outside matters. There are lessons in life that can’t be taught in a classroom; they happen on the field, they happen when you become part of a team, they happen when you physically push yourself and experience victory and defeat. Lincoln is the largest high school in Seattle. Not having a field prevents equal access to sports and outdoor activities, including PE. As parents and as a community, we owe it to this generation of students to give them the tools they need to succeed. A field in Seattle is never simple, but it’s a basic ask.
DG, LHS Parent
As I am sure you are aware there is a shortage of athletic field space in Seattle. Athletics are so important to our youth especially in an age when they have much less freedom to move about safely in the public sphere. I have two daughters, one at Hamilton and one at Lincoln. They both play soccer and ultimate frisbee. Their teams struggle to find practice space and times even in the winter. In the spring and fall it is worse. The Lincoln High School Ultimate Frisbee GX Team , which is ranked eighth in the nation, did not have a season in the fall in part for lack of practice space. In winter they practiced at Eaglestaff, last spring they practiced at Magnuson Park. I don't know what you would think of putting your daughter on a public bus on north Aurora Avenue at night but I don't feel that is a reasonable option.
Lincoln High School is the largest High School in Seattle and only High School in Seattle without a sports field. It is directly adjacent to Hamilton Middle School which shares the distinction of not having a playfield. The adjacent land for Wallingford park was given to the city decades ago for the community and youth of the neighborhood for the purpose of providing recreation opportunities for those students.
A spurious legal partition by Wallingford Neighbors has derailed the plans to improve this park so that it could be used for the schools athletics and PE. They make two claims that I can see. One that the improvement of the playfield would preclude the neighborhood from using the park and thus deny the purpose of the land gift. The students are in fact Wallingford residents and the improvement of the playfield does not preclude the use of non-students. The other is the claim that the EIS done for the Lincoln High School renovation stated that there would be no impact to Wallingford Park. That was just a lazy and nearsighted mistake by the staff person filling out the form. As it is the field is in such poor condition it is hardly usable. It should be improved for the benefit of adjacent schools athletics.
If the city is not going to improve Wallingford Park then it should speed up the improvement of Woodland Park. My understanding that funding was approved in 2022. Meanwhile nothing seems to be happening except avoiding conflict with neighbors and kicking the can down the road. This is an opportunity to take action and improve our community for our kids and the rest of us who use Seattle parks.
1st. Improve Wallingford Park with synthetic turf so that it can be used year round safely. If you haven't done so, I encourage you to try walking across the field without spraining an ankle.
2nd. Replace the baseball woodland field #1 with a multi-use field similar to Loyal Heights Playfield. The baseball field is getting resurfaces and is underutilized compared to the surrounding fields.
3rd. Kick the dogs off and improve B.F. Day Playfield. Currently Seattle Youth Soccer won't schedule games there because the field condition is so bad it is a safety concern.
BP, Parent of a Lincoln student + a Hamilton Student
Por que les gustan los deportes a mis hijos, se mantienen activos y en forma, se relacionan con nuevos compañeros y tener nuevos amigos.
[Translated: Because my children enjoy sports, they stay active and fit, interact with new teammates, and make new friends.
JN, LHS Parent
I run track and field and I don’t get home until 9:30pm on workout days because we have to practice at Ingraham High School. This makes it really difficult for many Lincoln kids, especially those who live in Queen Anne and Magnolia.
Sid Paul, LHS Student
Two kids in the neighborhood. One at Lincoln so sadly he will not see a field. Hopeful our current 7th grader gets to appreciate one. Watching both kids travel long distances and coordinating drives have been complicated and unfair. Ie Taking city buses to practices to far places. On the flip side the ability to have the kids walk safely to woodland fields currently for practices is a relief and gives our kids independence. Less travel time allows more time on field and /or at school. Not competing for field times helps them get home to study and get to bed at a decent time. Home field advantage is special for these kids. They feel pride and spirit for Lincoln. Please let these kids thrive!
Jen Gaspar, Hamilton + Lincoln Parent
I’m a senior at Lincoln High School and I have participated in soccer and track for four years. I’ve experienced first-hand many issues with the lack of field and track space. For soccer, we have a very limited time when we can use another school’s field so we don’t get any extra time to practice. We have 3 teams, which means some kids have to practice in the morning, before school. As a student athlete, sleep is necessary to do well in school and in athletics.
For track, we’re having to use Ingraham High School’s track, which requires at least an hour or more on the bus each day, just getting to and from practice. This limits time for homework and other essential activities to daily life. We are also spending lots of money on practice buses, which is money wasted. Having a field would mean a better community as a sports team.
Going to LHS all four years has really had an impact on me, seeing no progress from the district to expand our field and track space. I would love to see that for future generations
Paige, LHS Senior - speaker at SPR Board Meeting 2/26/26
The city of Seattle does not have enough tracks for all the people that run in this town. It’s one of the best running communities in the country.
I coach two non-cut sports at Lincoln – cross country and track. We don’t want to cut anybody. But by not having a track, we are cutting kids. At the beginning of the season I have 260 kids signed up for track, which is amazing. I love it. Track is for everyone. Big, small, fast, slow we got it all. But once these kids realize how bad the schedule is, we’ll lose 100 of them. They’re not getting back to Lincoln until 8:30pm at the earliest because we have to bus back from practice, then someone has to pick them up, they have to get home, they have to eat dinner, they have to do their homework and this does not promote activity. These kids have all kinds of pressures. They’re on their phones all the time. This is an opportunity for them to get off their phones, to be doing a sport with their peers, to be out getting exercise, to finding a lifelong activity and people aren’t talking a lot about the track. The track is going to be used by thousands of people every day. I just really hope we stop kicking that can and invest in the future.
Ben Sauvage, LHS PE Teacher and Cross Country & Track Coach
- speaker at SPR Board Meeting 2/26/26
My family has a recent Lincoln graduate (2025) and a sophomore (2028). Both of them are band kids, and are especially invested in marching band.
Their middle school, Robert Eagle Staff, has a phenomenal music program. The marching band participates in local events like Seattle's St. Patrick's Day Parade and Syttende Mai, and has even performed court shows for Seattle Storm.
During the summer, both of our children take part in Seattle All-City Band, which comprises high school musicians from around the area and marches in Seafair and regional celebrations all summer long.
For them, marching band is sharing the joy of music, maintaining a physically challenging regimen, and exercising leadership.
Conspicuously missing from this list is Lincoln. The band program at Lincoln is great, but hasn't been able to support marching band. Why? A large part of the problem is there is nowhere for them to practice. They compete with the sports teams for space in Wallingford Park which is in any case not ideal, or they struggle to find some space in the parking lot.
We are excited at the idea of Lincoln finally having its own field to support athletics and of course the marching band. Let's go Lynx!
EM, Parent of recent graduate (2025) and sophomore (2028)
We need a field so the students can get home earlier from sports. Because they are using Ingraham’s field they get home really late.
SW, LHS Family
More than 15 years ago, long before I was a parent in the attendance area of Lincoln, or the head football coach, I read about Seattle’s plan to reopen Lincoln to support a growing student population. When I looked at the location, I asked a couple simple questions. Where are the fields and where will these students practice? Today I stand here as both a coach and a parent of a two future Lynx to say those questions still haven’t been answered. The temporary fixes have run their course. And it’s time for a long-term solution. Our players spend 50-60 hours each season just commuting to and from practice. For the first two weeks of the season, there are no buses because school hasn’t started. That means 12 practice days, 17 total practices, where families must find their own transportation 90 blocks from campus. On a typical day our athletes don’t return to school until 9pm and they still have to get home, eat, and complete their homework.
We talk about safe spaces, we talk about mental health. We talk about equity right now. Those values are not being met for Lincoln Student Athletes. It’s been long enough, the time for action is now. Lincoln students don’t deserve special treatment, they deserve the same access and opportunity as every other Seattle Public Student.
Coach Packard, LHS Football - speaker at SPR Board Meeting 2/26/26