Northeast Oklahoma City's Edwards Park Sports Complex is set to reopen with four new irrigated, lighted football fields, replacing the three that stood there before, as the city prepares for a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday morning. The $4.5 million project also includes a new maintenance building, according to News 9.
Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation is scheduled to hold a ribbon-cutting at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the complex, according to News 9. The project was funded through park impact fees and capital improvement project funds.
A Bigger Footprint for Youth Sports
The upgrade essentially adds a fourth playing surface to a complex that previously operated with just three football fields. All four new fields are irrigated and lighted. The site's expanded capacity comes as officials describe the fields as already seeing heavy use even before the ribbon-cutting, as noted by News 9.
Melinda McMillan-Miller told News 9 that the fields were already busy.
A Citywide Measure of Field Supply
The 2013 Oklahoma City Parks Master Plan Executive Summary reported 0.6 ball fields per 10,000 residents in the city, compared with a peer-city mean of 1.3. That is a citywide measure, not a count specific to northeast Oklahoma City or Edwards Park, according to the Oklahoma City Parks Master Plan Executive Summary.
Ward 7 Councilman to Take Part
Ward 7 Councilman Camal Rennington is expected to take part in Tuesday's ribbon-cutting, according to News 9.
Along with the four new fields, the project is set to bring a maintenance building to the grounds, officials say, though further details on that structure were not specified. The complex's location in northeast Oklahoma City places it among the city's network of public parks and recreational sites.
