BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — After a soggy spring, crowds flocked to Delaware Park to enjoy the sunshine. Longtime friends Molly Ferguson and Justine Duquette spent the evening in the park chatting, but it was the mess left behind from the Corporate Challenge that caught their attention.
"I'm a little surprised to see it's a little torn up on the grass. It's muddy and not what you would normally see when you're sitting here for a view," Duquette said. The damage left by the thousands that attended the JP Morgan Corporate challenge is still an eye sore on the golf course inside Delaware Park.
Ferguson added: "When you combine all that rain and I feel like half of Buffalo comes out for the corporate challenge, that really does create a situation where you're going to end up with all this mud."
Executive Director of Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, Stephanie Crockatt, says patience is key as crews wait for an estimated 60,000 square feet of damaged park to dry out. Then those crews can go in and fix the damage.
"We're actually looking at this as an opportunity to plant a better fescue that would have deeper roots, which then should be able to sustain this type of activity in the future," Crockatt said. It's estimated that the damage will cost around $20,000 dollars. That estimate is hoped to be finalized by the end of the week. JP Morgan Chase and other local businesses are pitching in to help offset those costs.
"We keep being asked if the park has seen it's last day of the corporate Challenge, but that's not the solution. The solution for us is to have better management over the areas of the parks," Crockatt said.
