KAIT-Jonesboro, AR-News, weather, sports, classifieds-Patrons of Southside Softball Complex express need for improvements

Patrons of Southside Softball Complex express need for improvements

By Josh Harvison - bio | email

JONESBORO, AR (KAIT) - Parents, coaches and city officials have expressed a need for improvements at the Jonesboro Southside Softball Complex. Mayor Harold Perrin told Region 8 News Saturday he'd prefer the city own the property, which is currently owned by the state of Arkansas' Department of Human Services. Perrin said he'd like to make improvements based on how the community feels about possible projects. Perrin said he will meet with Parks Director Jason Wilke next week to discuss the complexes future.

"We'll take the entry fees but by the time we pay umpires, scorekeepers, concession workers and everything, we don't have that much to do improvements with," said Hubert "Pop" Gibson.

According to Perrin, citizens who use the complex have expressed interest in the city obtaining the rights to the property from the state. Since the state owns the complex, it's difficult for the city to get grants for improvement.

"What I would like in my lifetime, I'd like to see this look at good as Joe Mack Campbell because the girls deserve it. The boys have been out there. They got a nice place. This could be the same way but it's going to take money and time," said Gibson.

Gibson has been a groundskeeper at the complex ever since he stopped coaching a women's softball team for 12 years.

"The main thing I enjoy is the young kids. They all know me and holler at me and tell me who their mommy and daddy were and all this kind of stuff," said Gibson. "I've seen kids this little, now they're 50 years old and they're still out here."

According to Gibson, it'd cost $100,000 to demolish the old concession stand and bathroom in the middle of the girls' softball fields and build a new 2-story facility.

"We need a Double-Decker so the umpires and stuff would have a place upstairs over the concession stands," said Gibson. "We put new fencing up and everything. It looks nicer but it still needs a lot of work."

Todd Rainey, who coaches 2 girl softball teams during the summer, said the current facility is outdated and doesn't compare to others across the state.

"Everything from the concession stands down to the fields, the conditions of the fields themselves, the parking facilities, just a lot of other aspects, the dugouts the fences, there are a lot of other aspects at other facilities that really entice them to bring into the community teams from outside," said Rainey.
Rainey said if the city chose to obtain the property from the state, then it could invest in improvements and weekend tournaments would be more beneficial to the local economy.

"This facility really lacks in some areas, whereas other facilities really have some perks and things that the cities have gotten behind and really built those complexes to be really enticing to bring people in from out of town," said Rainey.

"There are a lot of other facilities that have really nice amenities that entice other teams to come into that area," said Rainey. "It's really an enticing town and with some improvements to the facility, can really bolster some things for the local economy."

"I know at least 80-something teams because that's what we can handle. We have to turn them away every year. If we had a place to do it, we could probably have over 100 every year," said Gibson. "I've been to Sherwood. I've been to Oklahoma. I've been to Texas. I've been everywhere. The city owned parks are so much more took care of."

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