Ribbon cutting set for phase two of sports complex

By John Smithson

After months of construction and anticipation the second phase of the City of North Myrtle Beach Sports Complex will have a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, November 14. Mayor Marilyn Hatley and members of city council will be there to cut the ribbon to celebrate the pending completion of the second phase of the sports complex.

The Parks Department will have signage on Champions Boulevard on the 14th to direct people to the site of the ribbon cutting. That same day the city will celebrate Arbor Day with the planting of 250 trees at the new sports complex.

I accompanied Director of Parks and Recreation Matt Gibbons on a brief tour of the new park. Gibbons is excited about the opening of the second phase which he said “basically everything we did in the first phase we have done in phase two. We extended Champions Boulevard and actually have three entrances to the park. One is the main entrance and then two more entrances to major sections of the park.”

The park encompasses 96 acres of fields, facilities and parking for future activities. “There are two three-field pods for baseball and softball. A playground is in the middle of both pods along with concessions and bathrooms. There are also picnic shelters and batting cages for each of the pods. Full concession facilities are easy to access,” Gibbons said.

On the side of the new phase closest to the current park five new soccer fields were built. They also have parking, concession stands, restrooms and another playground. “What we end up with is one big soccer complex. Fields one through eight are accessible through the original park entrance. Fields nine through thirteen can be reached through the new phase entrance. There will be lots of parking, but you will need to know what field you are scheduled to play on in order to be closer to parking for those fields,” Gibbons said.

“We also have walking and bike trails throughout the park. There is a lake that will provide water for all of our fields and has a well and pumping capability.”

“There was a six- or seven-acre area in the middle of the park that originally was designated for a possible water park. It will be graded but its construction is not in this phase of the park. The use for that land will be up to the desire of city council and a future plan for the area,” Gibbons said.

Gibons stated that the park completion should be in late November or early December and that play on athletic fields will be delayed until the spring to allow the fields to rest and tolerate play.

The second phase of the park will change the Christmas light show entrance. “You will now come in the main entrance of the new park and follow the decorations until you meet back up with the decorations in the original park. We added about a mile to the light show by moving the entrance and it will help with traffic issues on Robert Edge Parkway,” Gibbons explained.

“Our employees are working hard to get the light show ready. In the first phase of the park, we had to work to get the electric underground over time. Now the wiring was done on the front end as part of the design and will be more reliable.”

The second phase of the park required new personnel. “We added someone for athletics last year and we have eight full time maintenance people budgeted for this year and next year. We also have to add part time concession folks and other staff for our busy times. We will have up to 60 staff working when we are at full operation”, Gibbons said.

“Twenty years ago we were a much smaller department but with the addition of the sports complex and now phase two of that complex I feel like we should satisfy all our outdoor needs for a very long time. I know that we are one of the largest facilities in the state that has everything to serve people’s needs in one place. There’s nothing like it that I am aware of and it’s remarkable to have the elected officials support this facility and serve the residents and visitors through this complex,” Gibbons concluded.