Construction on Rockrose Complex May Start by September

It's been one of the longer things to come together in Amarillo than I can think of, but we're almost at the finish line. Believe me when I say, I'm thrilled it's almost home too, because it's desperately needed.

The Rockrose Sports Park, the brainchild of Kids Inc., has been looming over us for the last couple of years, promising us sports parents an incredible all-purpose sports complex for our kids to play at.

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It Hasn't Come To Fruition

The problem with it is right now it's still just a promise and nothing more. You've seen the sign there on I-27 for quite some time, but there has been no movement on it. When it was first announced, they stated it would take $30 million for just the first wave of it to be completed.

However, they haven't quite been able to attain that goal, and thus, construction hasn't even begun.

A New Donation Has Brought It Closer

Yesterday, July 28, Kids Inc. had a press conference announcing another large donation towards the project. The Paul F. and Virginia Engler Foundation handed them a $2 million donation to bring the park closer to the finish line.

That wasn't the only thing they announced, as they mentioned they were given a check a few weeks ago from the High Plains Christian Ministries who had a $1.5 million grant waiting for them once they hit $24 million raised. They hit that mark and were handed the check.

Read More: Are Amarillo's Youth Sports Complexes About To Get A Renovation?

Latest Fundraising Milestones

Those two donations bring the total raised for the complex to $27 million, which leaves them just $3 million short of having everything they need to complete the first wave of the project.

Kids Inc. President and CEO Jimmy Lackey mentioned that construction on the site WILL begin as soon as the end of September.

Projected Features of the Sports Complex

The complex is going to have eight baseball and softball fields and 31 soccer fields, while having the ability to host over seven different sports.

Why Rockrose Matters for Amarillo’s Youth

Being a parent and coach of youth baseball players, I can tell you it's very needed. Yes, we have several ballparks here in the area and places to be able to host tournaments for other sports, but as good of a job as they do working on maintaining these facilities, Amarillo is falling behind.

This past weekend, my youngest son played in a baseball tournament at the new John Bunch Complex in Hereford, and it's a beautiful facility. With Amarillo having a facility like Rockrose, it'll significantly boost attendance for youth tournaments AND increase revenue for the city as a whole. Cross your fingers that the facility does indeed begin construction in September, as mentioned.