By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
The City of Great Bend and Great Bend Convention & Visitors Bureau
received a $337,500 grant from Kansas Tourism, in partnership with the
Patterson Family Foundation, to make major additions to the Great Bend Sports
Complex.
There were eight recipients of the Tourism Attraction Sub-grants for Kansas
(TASK) that were announced Thursday.
The Sports Complex in Great Bend was constructed in 2012 and has allowed the
city to book baseball and softball tournaments during the spring and summer. Great Bend CVB Director
Christina Hayes said the Sports Complex is a big part in attracting visitors to
stay in hotels, shop and eat in town.
"The Sports Complex is one of the huge reasons why our transient guest tax is going so well," said Hayes. "We have teams coming in and staying in our hotels. They actually have proved that we need another hotel. Things are going well."
The grant will go toward the addition of two turf soccer fields, two turf football fields and an additional softball field.
"With the addition of soccer and football, it actually might extend our season out there and the use of that," said Hayes. "We can get more months at the complex other than softball and baseball months."
Each field will include bleachers, score and video boards and shade areas for
spectators and players. The project will also include perimeter fencing and gating,
all-season ADA restrooms, concessions, meeting room, first aid and storage and
an asphalt parking lot.
The city will now organize a budget and timeline for the project.
"Kendal Francis (city administrator) helped create a budget and look at things we can do," said Hayes. "The Great Bend Recreation Commission was part of this application process as well. Now that we know that we got it, we are going to go to the drawing board and figure out what the first phase is and what we can do."
Great Bend received $225,000 from the TASK Grant, but the Patterson Family Foundation
contributed additional funds to projects in rural communities.
The TASK recipients and amounts awarded:
• City of Great Bend Convention & Visitors Bureau, Barton County, $337,500
• Flint Hills Discovery Center, Riley County, $200,000
• Grassroots Art Center, Russell County, $172,226
• Horse Thief Reservoir Benefit District, Hodgeman County, $299,918
• Johnson County Park & Recreation District, Johnson County, $201,168
• Miners Hall Museum Foundation, Crawford County, $337,500
• Strataca: Kansas Underground Salt Museum, Reno County, $174,750
• The Nature Conservancy, Logan County, $238,950