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Charleston Gazette-Mail
The day after a $1 million grant from BrickStreet Insurance to the Shawnee Park Multi-Sport Complex was made public, the head of the foundation backing development of the proposed athletic facility said his organization planned to raise a total of $10 million to construct the complex.
Allen E. Tackett, chairman of the sport complex's foundation, announced the $10 million fundraising goal on Wednesday, during a meeting of the Kanawha County Parks and Recreation Board, of which he is president.
"We're going to try to raise $10 million for Shawnee, Tackett said during a discussion of the park board's long-term plans, which include the development of the athletic complex at the former Shawnee Park golf course. Tackett serves as president of the county parks board as well as chairman of the sports complex's foundation.
During a meeting of the Kanawha County Commission on Tuesday, president Kent Carper credited Tackett and county commissioner Ben Salango with facilitating BrickStreet's $1 million donation.
The sports complex, to be built on 121 acres atop Shawnee Park's soon-to-close golf course at a cost of about $15 million, will include playing fields for soccer, lacrosse, softball and baseball, as well as upgraded outdoor basketball and tennis courts.
The first construction projects are expected to be put out for bids in November, with the winning bidders to be identified in December.
In other developments at Wednesday's meeting, it was reported that the county park system cut expenses by $59,000, or about 10 percent, during the first nine months of this year, compared with the same period in 2016.
During the next three weeks, the soccer stadium at Coonskin Park will host the state AA championships, the state Christian schools championships and the Mountain East Conference's men's championships.
Coonskin Park's disc golf course has been moved from the area under the glide path for Yeager Airport's main runway to the park's golf course, making it the first disc course to be aligned with a golf course in the state.
The course, completed on Sunday, has already been used by 25 disc golfers, with no advance publicity, according to Coonskin Park officials.
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