Construction on a water well for the downtown soccer complex will be under way soon. The Columbus-Lowndes Recreation Authority approved the water project at its meeting Monday night. The board awarded the project to the Donald Smith Co. of Headland, Ala. for $203,000.
“This is a little bit higher than what we had initially anticipated,” CLRA Director Roger Short said. “The money is there, but we will need to have it approved by both the city and the county.”
The water well is the latest development at the soccer complex, which sits on approximately 50 acres near downtown Columbus. The $4.2 million project will include fields and basic amenities such as parking, restrooms and concession stands.
According to Short, completion of the project will now take top priority.
Another joint city-county project is almost complete. The $1.6 million neighborhood parks project is in its final stages, Short said.
“The Crawford facility is our last one and it is at 90-95 percent completion,” he said. “We should be opening it in about three weeks. We will now be putting all of our efforts into the soccer complex.”
The soccer complex is scheduled to open in September.
With the soccer complex expected to bring revenue to the city in the form of tournaments, Short delivered some good news to the board regarding some of its existing sports fields: Propst Park will host the 2012 Dizzy Dean 7-and-under and 12-and-under state baseball tournaments.
Board member Rusty Greene questioned Short on the anticipated revenue, asking if the tournaments will make money for the department.
CLRA Director of Programs Greg Lewis said the entire community will benefit from the summer tournaments.
“The bulk of the money will be made at our hotels and restaurants, but we will make some money at the gates,” Lewis said.
Short echoed Lewis’ sentiments on the potential for the local economy.
“This is going to be a big deal,” he said. “We are going to be bringing people to Columbus. These people will be staying in our hotels, buying our gas and eating in our restaurants. We definitely have the potential to make some money from these events. We bid one of the tournaments at $2,500, but we were able to get it for $2,000.”
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