A young person’s multi-purpose recreational center some 70 miles to the west of the New Mexico border has announced plans to build a $30 million outdoor athletic complex.
For decades, Kids., Inc., has provided recreational space for many elementary and middle school students in the Amarillo area.
Now the company wants to launch a project that will see the building of a 60-acre lighted synthetic turf field on land located to the south of Loop 35, between Interstate 27 and Coulter Street in Amarillo.
The project has taken a big step forward with the donation of 90 acres from the building and planning firm, Rockrose Development, also based in Amarillo.
The synthetic turf will be part of a larger planned athletic complex, which will also include seating and metal picnic table space, as well as an indoor track facility.
Officials with Kids, Inc. say that once the new facility is built, it will be able to host softball, football, baseball, and disc golf teams, among other activities.
Kids, Inc. has long been known for offering facilities to young people, initially as a means of combating juvenile delinquency. In 1962, during a time a civil rights upheaval in both the South and West, a newspaper article noted that Kids, Inc. was “an organization for boys and girls of all races, creeds and color.”
A capital fundraising campaign is currently underway to begin the first phase construction of the new facility.
By Garry Boulard
