By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
The celebratory ribbon cutting was snipped in mid-February on the newly turfed Great Bend Sports Complex, and there is already a high demand to use the facility.
Great Bend Recreation Commission Assistant Superintendent Chris
Umphres mentioned a pair of high schools outside of the county reached out to
schedule a regular-season game at Great Bend’s facility this spring. Umphres
added the fields can be rented out, with the fee going to a supervisor’s cost.
"Opening it up for the first time to the public with sunflower seeds and the use of hitting mats, we want to make sure it's supervised," said Umphres. "We've always supervised it for games, but this will be the first year we've opened it up for practice. We'll have applications and deposits out there. Hopefully, it will be used by the community."
The $1.37 million project to place turf on the infields and bullpen areas on
the five ballfields at the Sports Complex was finished this past winter. The
Rec Commission, City of Great Bend and USD 428 collaborated to finance the
improvements to the facility.
Great Bend Rec board member Andrea Bauer was grateful for the economic impact
of this past weekend’s Class 1A – Division II State Basketball Championships
held in town and is ready for the Sports Complex to have a similar impact.
"After a weekend with the crowds in town for the state basketball, it's hard to deny the impact tourism has for athletics," said Bauer. "They follow the teams, they bring crowds, cheerleaders and fan clubs."
Along with dozens of youth softball and baseball tournaments, the Sports
Complex will host the Class 2-1A State Baseball Tournament and the Kansas
Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) baseball and softball championships in
May.