City Council approves final concept for sports complex renovations.

The Edmond City Council Monday approved the final concept for the renovation of A.C. Caplinger Sports Complex and discussed possible funding options.

The Council also approved an agreement with Crossland Construction Company Inc. for Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) Services for the renovation of the A.C. Caplinger Sports Complex for $35,000.00 for Preconstruction Services and four percent of total construction cost.

Brad Raney, Edmond Parks and Recreation Director, told the Council that the A.C. Caplinger baseball field complex at Hafer Park has needed renovation for many years.

“They were built in the 1970s, they've served their useful purpose. The fields, the complex are in need of replacement, especially some of the infrastructure,” Raney said.

In 2018, a master plan was developed with Halff Associates Inc. to improve the fields over at least two phases. The master plan led to a full design by Halff with bid documents prepared for the first phase of the project, which included renovating six fields, changing lighting to LED, improving the fan experience, and adding parking.

Raney said during the final design and initial bidding process, a change in the contracted operator of the Mitch Park and AC Caplinger ball field complexes occurred, and it was determined at that time the general concepts of the plan were not adequate to meet current and future needs.

Raney said the City of Edmond paused the project with Halff and contracted with Victus to provide a study and analyze the needs and opportunities for all sports facilities in Edmond. This information was presented to the City Council on July 24, 2023.

With information from the Victus study in hand, Halff was engaged to work with city staff and a stakeholder group to develop a conceptual design which would meet user needs and include a cost-efficient approach to meeting drainage requirements.

After months of feedback, the final concept has been presented and supported by the Master Plan Working groups, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, and the Capital Improvement Advisory Board.  

The concept is a complete renovation of the complex and replaces infrastructure, rearranges field layouts, includes new sports lighting, new amenities, adds another restroom, increases parking, and provides synthetic turf infields.

“The current opinion of probable cost from Halff is $15.3 Million for construction, which includes a 20 percent contingency and the CMAR fee,” Raney said. “The CMAR will finalize this estimate and a proposed contract for final design will be presented to the City Council in February. The contract for final design is estimated at $1.3 million.”

Raney said in order to fund this gap, city staff is proposing and the CIP Advisory Board unanimously approved, shifting budgeted funds for the Rectangular Field project, improvements to the former Bickham Softball Complex, and some of the dollars allocated for a potential indoor sports complex to this project.