Lincoln High School's 1,792 students moved one step closer July 23, to ending their seven-mile bus commute to Ingraham High School for every practice and game.
However, a fight over trees could push the timeline back again.
The Seattle Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners held a public hearing at Miller Community Center on Superintendent Ben Shuldiner's proposal to build a $9.4 million multi-sport field on a gravel lot at North 50th Street and Aurora Avenue North in Lower Woodland Park.
The commission is scheduled to vote Thursday, August 13.
Lincoln is the only comprehensive high school in Seattle Public Schools without a home athletic field. Its teams practice and compete at Ingraham High School in Haller Lake, about 7 miles north.
Principal Corey Eichner told KOMO News he regularly sees buses bringing students back to campus late on weeknights, with travel to practices running between 7 and 9 p.m.
"It would be such a game changer for us to have that space, not only for our athletic program, but for our activities, our performing arts and the broader community," Eichner said.
Three failed attempts since 2024
This is the district's third attempt to secure Lincoln a field. A 2024 proposal at Wallingford Playfield died after neighbor opposition.
An August 2025 plan to build over an existing Woodland Park soccer field drew objections over trees and BMX bike jumps.
Shuldiner advanced the current gravel-lot recommendation to Seattle Parks on Wednesday, June 10, after presenting it to Lincoln students at a year-end assembly.
The delays weigh on students. Junior Ben Ward told the Seattle Times in June 2026 that he sometimes doesn't get home until 10 p.m. after busing back from Ingraham. Senior Chloe Hanscom, captain of the track and gymnastics teams, said in the same interview: "We've had people say that we're ready to build before, and nothing has happened."
Project details and funding
The field would support soccer, football, ultimate, and lacrosse, with a renovation of the existing track at Lower Woodland Field No. 7. SPS is targeting fall 2029 for opening.
Funding comes from the Buildings, Technology, and Academics V (BTA V) Capital Levy, approved by Seattle voters in February 2022 with 79% support. That levy originally earmarked $5 million for Lincoln's field; the current $9.4 million estimate is 88% above that original allocation. SPS has not publicly explained the gap. Lincoln's student newspaper reported that if a decision is delayed further, the funding may no longer be available given competing demands on the $783 million levy.
Environmental opposition
Tree Action Seattle formally opposed the plan ahead of the July 23 hearing. The group's campaign letter states that at least 79 significant trees would be removed from the site, with total loss likely exceeding 100 when accounting for construction impacts on adjacent root zones.
The group says some trees are likely original old growth, including a Western Red Cedar measured at 57.2 inches in diameter.
Sarah Lappas, a Tree Action Seattle volunteer and SPS parent whose children do not attend Lincoln, told KOMO News the project would replace "healthy, mature trees and huge swaths of a forest system with a plastic field" during what she called a fourth consecutive year of drought.
The number of trees at stake remains disputed. SPS later cited approximately 40 trees but has not provided a list or explained why the estimate changed from the arborist report's 79.
Shuldiner acknowledged the tree concerns but said the district consulted hundreds of community members and chose the site that would "do the least amount of harm but also going to give us the size that we need."
What's next
If the Parks Commission approves the proposal on August 13, the project moves into a formal Environmental Impact Statement.
Seattle Parks spokesperson Christina Hirsch confirmed that step would be required. No timeline for the EIS process has been announced.
Written comments can be submitted through the Seattle Parks website ahead of the August 13 vote.
