Parks and Recreation: soccer complex lighting, grants and events boost revenue and bookings

Durant's Parks and Recreation director told the City Council the department is preparing to install LED lights at the soccer complex, funded in part through a Musco Lighting grant and partnerships with OG&E and the local youth soccer club. The lights and poles are expected to take six to eight weeks after purchase, the director said.

The director said the department hosted two concert series and a community event this quarter, ran 13 tournaments and logged more than 750 hours of facility bookings; recreational leagues reported roughly 1,400 participants across adult and youth programs. "According to Placer AI, we actually had around 19,000 people at the complex alone," he said when describing event attendance.

Parks staff are also advancing projects including playground installation at Schuler Park, renovation of RV pads and lake house work, security lighting at Carl Albert Park, and a grant-supported plan to refurbish and add shade structures at softball fields. The director said the department generated about $51,000 in revenue from concessions, field reservations and related sources this quarter and reported a first-quarter cost recovery rate of 14%.

The director also described community fundraising and long-term events: a Breakthrough T1D (type 1 diabetes) walk will be held Nov. 2 at 3 p.m., an event the director said he and his wife founded and that is now planned as an annual fixture.

Ending: Council members asked about the timing and specifications for the soccer complex lighting and about replacement options for other field lights. No formal council action was recorded; staff said the lighting order and installation are pending purchase orders and coordination with OG&E.