Commissioners review Elk City sports-complex visit and plan public town hall on local complex

A group of city officials and staff told the Mayor and Board of Commissioners at a study session that a recent field trip to Elk City’s sports complex offered ideas for a proposed local sports complex, and they announced a public town hall on the project at the Stride Bank Center in May.

Gerald, the commission’s presenter on the site visit, said about 12 city officials and staff toured Elk City’s facilities. He described two large “fiveplex” clusters of fields—now surfaced with artificial turf—ample central parking and a central building housing concessions, restrooms and storage. “They rolled out the red carpet for us,” Gerald said of the Elk City hosts.

Why it matters: commissioners are considering a multi‑field sports complex that could attract multi‑day tournaments, hotel stays and concession spending. Elk City staff told the visiting delegation that tournaments routinely draw thousands of visitors and that concession revenue on tournament days can be substantial; the visiting group learned techniques Elk City uses to reduce maintenance, improve guest flow and increase return visits.

Key details from the report: Elk City uses artificial turf to keep games on schedule even after heavy rain, and staff explained maintenance and localized wear-repair techniques for pitchers’ mounds and base paths; one presenter said outfields may reach 17–19 years of life while high-wear areas are replaced more often. Parking was noted as a constraint; Elk City had about 208–210 primary spaces at one lot but supplements parking during tournaments. The Elk City hosts use streamlined concession operations (fountain drinks at multiple stations) and posted QR codes for hotels and restaurant information to guide visitors and support local businesses. Gerald said Elk City reported running “10 to 12,000 dollars” through concession stands on tournament days and that a recent soccer tournament used about 1,800 hotel rooms across seven hotels over two days.

Commissioners and staff discussed safety and crowd control features such as fencing and dedicated warm‑up areas for teams. Gerald and other staff emphasized tradeoffs between desired amenities and the project budget: “Every time you add something, it’s more money,” Gerald told commissioners, and the consultant Half will present design options at public meetings.

Public engagement: the commission announced three public meetings; the first town hall is scheduled at the Stride Bank Center at 5:30 p.m. in May. Staff said the meetings are intended to solicit public input and inform final concepts.

Discussion vs. decisions: the presentation was informational. Staff said future public meetings and consultant work will convert feedback into design options; no votes were taken during the study session.

Next steps: staff will hold the town hall in May and plan site visits to other regional facilities in late May for additional benchmarking. The consultant Half and project team will use public input to refine design and budget options for commissioners to consider.