With the commencement of spring and summer sports, Columbus-Lowndes Recreation Authority Executive Director Roger Short already is looking to fall and winter. A $4.2 million soccer complex is scheduled to open in September, in the Burns Bottom area, which has Short hoping Columbus will catch soccer fever.
“Our baseball and softball fields at Propst Park are old and we need to do something about them,” Short said. “But it became the reality we would have to keep softball and baseball there for a while. But we had to do something about our soccer facilities. Our fields at (Cook Elementary School) were landlocked and the parking there had become a problem. So, we concentrated our efforts on getting a soccer complex.”
Short said the complex has changed slightly since its initial developmental phase.
“We had originally planned to have some pavilions and trails and a small waterfall, but we had to cut these things out when it came to creating a budget,” he said. “But there are some grants we are looking at to help bring some of these ideas to fruition, such as connecting the soccer park with the Riverwalk under the (Highway 82 bridge). But we are happy with the layout of the soccer park. This park will be good for the next 20 years.”
The next phase of the soccer complex includes the addition of a second concessions area, Short noted.
Other projects nearing completion
Completing the soccer complex has become top priority for Short, as a 15-month project to renovate community centers has finally come to an end.
“We are accepting bids to have the old Charles Brown Gymnasium torn down,” Short explained. “We will stop accepting bids on Friday. This marks the end of our $1.6 million project, which was $850,000 from the city and $850,000 from the county.
Projects renovations included, an open-air pavilion and walking track at Sandfield Center, renovations on the East Columbus Gymnasium and new community centers at Crawford, Anderson Grove and Sim Scott Park.
“We built the new Townsend Community center and an open-air basketball pavilion with timed lights; they come on at dusk and shut off at 9:30,” Short said of final plans. “These things are replacing the old Charles Brown gym.”
Jeff Clark was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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