Lawton Youth Sports Authority faces delay in purchase of land for youth sports complex

Progress is slower than they like, but members of the Lawton Youth Sports Authority are moving forward with the purchase of 85 acres of land in east Lawton for the city’s planned indoor youth sports complex.

Authority members voted Thursday to amend its contracts with Donna Richards Cooper and James M. Cooper for 37.59 acres of land and the Frank L. Richards Revocable Living Trust for 47.4 acres of land, which combined will provide an 85-acre tract that will become the home for that complex. Authority members voted in March to buy the land at East Gore Boulevard and Southeast 45th Street for a total of $1 million.

Hossein Moini, authority vice chairman, said progress on that sale has been slower than anticipated because of “challenges with survey work.”

“And, it has delayed the process,” Moini said, adding the authority was voting to extend the closing date by 60 days to allow that work to be completed so the sale can be finalized.

The original contract had specified a closing date of May 13, which won’t be possible, Moini said, adding he expects the necessary work to be completed by the time the 60-day extension expires.

Authority Chairman Brian Henry said in March the property acquisition ended months of negotiations with Donna Richards Cooper, who owns one tract with her husband and who is a trustee for the Frank L. Richards Revocable Living Trust. Henry said Donna Richards Cooper is so supportive of the youth sports complex that she is selling a tract appraised at $1 million for $505,000. Cooper said she was doing so in memory of her late husband, long-time east Lawton developer Frank Richards who would have supported the project.

The land is the first step in what a process to create an indoor complex that will contain space for basketball courts that can be converted to other play and indoor turf fields. Eastern Sports Management, which handles youth and adults sports for the City of Lawton, analyzed multiple sites to find the best location for that facility. While the focus in the past year had been school trust land located near Eisenhower High School in west Lawton and Kiowa-Comanche-Apache land north of Elmer Thomas Park, the authority voted in March to buy the East Gore Boulevard land.

Henry said the site was attractive because of the infrastructure that already exists there, as well as the complex’s proximity to MacArthur High School, Eastside Park and their outdoor sports fields. The 47.4 acre tract will be purchased for $495,000; the 37.59-acre tract for $505,000.

Authority members said the purchase will allow Eastern Sports Management to proceed with the next step of the plan: designs. Officials have said having shovel-ready construction plans will help their search for grants to help fund what is projected to be a $31 million project.

Some funding already exists for the project, including money to pay for the land acquisition: $700,000 in the 2019 Capital Improvements Program (CIP) and $350,000 from a $3 million grant from McMahon Foundation. Foundation members have said the authority can use up to $350,000 of its grant to buy land.

Both funding sources are included in the 2024-2025 proposed budget that the authority also approved Thursday. Authority member Krista Ratliff said while the new budget reflects the $700,000 CIP money, those funds (to be carried over from this fiscal year) will be held by the City of Lawton until they are needed.

The 2019 CIP includes up to $8 million for the sports complex, but supporters have said more funding is necessary. Authority members are expected to explain the project at a May 16 community meeting slated to explain the City Council’s plan to seek a new extension of the CIP.

The next phase of the indoor youth sports complex also will prompt a change in the scope of services contract with Eastern Sports Management. That firm was hired in August 2022 to handle all aspects of youth sports once handled by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, to include management of its facilities.

Moini said the change will reflect design plans, which Eastern Sports Management will oversee. Authority members expect to vote on that change at their June meeting.