A $1.5 million project is underway that will see Arkadelphia’s Youth Sports Complex finally get the baseball fields that were envisioned more than a decade ago.
The project began in the late 1990s with an aquatic recreation center, according to City Manager Jimmy Bolt.
“There was intended to be a four-quad baseball field,” he said. “But we had a problem finding land, and it was going to take up more acres than we originally intended.”
By 2007, only one of the four planned quads was built. Last year the city refinanced its debt and ended up with an additional $1.5 million in the budget. Bolt said the city’s board of directors approved the use of these funds to finally complete the other three quads. Two will be used for girls’ softball and the third for baseball; the project will also see a new concession stand built as well as improvements to parking and landscaping.
Bolt said that if any money is left over after that work, the additional funds will be used for some general parks and recreation improvements around the city.
As of press time, the contractor had not been decided. Bolt said the engineer will be McLelland Consulting Engineers Inc. of Little Rock. Bolt said the project will be out to bid by May, and then will take from 90 to 120 days to build.
When the three fields are done, the biggest part of the original vision will be fulfilled, but Bolt noted that “there’s potential to be an indoor practice facility and some other enhancements that may come along.”
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