A firm working on the facilities plan for the Little Rock School District is proposing a $24.6 million sports complex that would host athletic events for schools across the district.
The recommendation for the sports complex, along with plans for improving existing middle and high school athletics facilities and making changes to school cafeterias, was presented Thursday night at a meeting of the Little Rock School Board.
Troy Glover, project manager for architecture and engineering firm Fanning-Howey, gave an update on the facilities plan the firm is drafting.
The sports complex would include softball, baseball and soccer fields; tennis courts; a pool; weight and locker rooms; and other sports facilities.
It would be used by the district's middle and high schools, many of which don't have adequate facilities for some sports and don't have room to add them.
"This would support all of your schools, especially the ones that are landlocked," Glover said.
The proposed complex would include a 10-lane rubberized track, which would allow the district to host track meets.
"We don't have a quality track, but we have the fastest female and male athlete in the state of Arkansas in our district," Superintendent Dexter Suggs said.
John Daniels, the district's athletic director, said some of the schools have tracks, but they're not up to state standards because they're not rubberized properly.
"You can host a meet on it, but no one's going to show up," Daniels said.
Another feature of the proposed complex would be a wrestling practice area. Daniels said wrestling is a sport that's gaining popularity in the state.
The district has two wrestling teams, one at McClellan High School and one at Central High School, but Daniels said he thinks there would be more if the right facilities existed.
"If we have the facility, I believe the kids will come," he said.
Suggs said that in addition to serving the needs of Little Rock students, the sports complex could raise money for the district.
"We could use it as a revenue maker, also, to host state competitions here in Little Rock," he said.
The proposed location for the complex is on property the district owns and plans to use for a new campus for McClellan High School on Richsmith Lane in southwest Little Rock.
Fanning-Howey's recommendations for the district's facilities plan also include updates to athletic facilities on school campuses, including the addition and renovation of gyms and field houses.
Board member Leslie Fisken, whose daughter plays middle school sports in the district, said the district's facilities don't measure up to those in other school districts in the state.
"Everybody across the board talks about the lack of our facilities," she said. "If you go to any of these schools, even in central Arkansas, you see these facilities are amazing in much smaller school districts than us."
Daniels said the district has even lost students to other districts because of its lack of updated athletic facilities.
The facilities plan will also include recommended updates to the district's cafeterias.
Glover said Fanning-Howey and the state Department of Education's Child Nutrition Services unit are reviewing the assessments of each facility and finalizing the lists of necessary improvements. The recommendations should be ready within two weeks, he said.
One problem that will be addressed is a lack of air conditioning. Half of the district's kitchens don't have air conditioning at all.
The recommendations will include plans for the setup of each individual cafeteria.
"We created models for each kitchen: elementary, middle and high," Glover said. "But there's a bit of uniqueness for each kitchen at each school."
The updates to athletic facilities and cafeterias are two of several parts of a facilities plan being drafted by Fanning-Howey.
A draft of the full plan is expected to be sent to board members by July 31, Glover said. The board will hold a work session on it Aug. 14, and the plan will be finalized by September, he said.
Metro on 07/11/2014