Trust authority ready to buy land for indoor youth sports complex

Members of the Lawton Youth Sports Trust Authority plan to close today on property that would allow Lawton to build an indoor youth sports complex.

The group has been searching for a site for that complex since voters designated funding in the Capital Improvements Program in 2019. Plans for the most recent site — 85 acres at the corner of Southeast 45th Street and Gore Boulevard — were abandoned by the trust late last year because of a deed issue with one of the owners, the Frank L. Richards Trust.

While the trust also owns the new acreage the trust wants to buy near Eastside Park, that tract has a clear title and heirs don’t have to sign off on the proposal, said Trust Authority Chairman Brian Henry, who has been negotiating with Donna Richards Cooper for about 40 acres. The new 40 acres are adjacent to Eastside Park, which itself is adjacent to MacArthur High School and MacArthur Middle School on East Gore Boulevard. All are directly north of the former 85-acre tracts.

The site comes with multiple advantages, Henry has said. Roads and infrastructure already are there, and it is easily accessible by out-of-towners, the same arguments made for the 85 acres. But, this new tract is adjacent to Eastside Park, which has outdoor athletic fields that Eastern Sports Management has said are important to making the indoor complex attractive for regional tournaments.

Most importantly, the land is less expensive than the $1 million the sports trust authority would have spent on the two parcels that comprised the former 85 acres.

“I really think we’re on our way this time,” Henry said, explaining Donna Richards Cooper is a trustee for the Richards Trust (the land’s owner) and is enthusiastic about the project.

Henry said earlier this week he doesn’t expect any problems with closing because all issues have been settled.

“The land is clean titled. There are no issues with heirs having to sign,” he said.

The land has been appraised for $300,000, which is the price the trust authority will pay. Funding will come from grant funds allocated to the Lawton Youth Sports Trust Authority by the McMahon Foundation, which is helping to fund a complex expected to provide a venue for basketball and other indoor sports, matched with outdoor sports that can be played on nearby athletic fields.

There are other players at the table, including Lawton Public Schools.

LPS owns three tracts adjacent to the Richards property, and Henry said district administrators are willing to sign a long-term term lease allowing the trust authority to incorporate school land into the Richards Trust property, providing about 80 acres total. Joined with Eastside Park, the result is about 120 acres that can be used for youth sports, Henry said.

Henry said LPS Superintendent Kevin Hime has received “positive feedback” from his school board about the idea of a long-term lease to the trust authority. The benefit for LPS is an indoor complex that MacArthur middle and high school students can use during the school day, meaning the district saves the cost of building its own facility. The indoor complex will be close enough for students to walk to it.

Henry said LPS cannot “give the land away,” meaning there must be an equivalency trade. The 39 acres is valued at $48,000, so based on what the complex would charge others to use its courts, that means the district would be entitled to 602 hours of use per school year.

“It’s a win-win,” Henry said, adding students get use of a quality complex.