With around 40 people in attendance, Keizer Mayor Cathy Clark led the groundbreaking of the first phase of the incoming turf field, located at Keizer Rapids Park.
Those in attendance included the full Keizer City Council, the Public Works Department and Parks Board, city staff, Rep. Kevin Mannix, Marion County Commissioners as well as Keizer Chamber director Darrell Fuller and executive director Corri Falardeau.
Clark delivered a speech praising the efforts of all involved in bringing this field closer to reality, specifically, city staff and all the hard workers from Benchmark Contracting Inc. as well as Public Works and the Parks Advisory Board.
The field is scheduled to be completed by this fall although another phase will need to be initiated before the field will be considered complete.
This second phase will involve installing more parking, utility storage and bathrooms, according to Parks Division manager Robert Johnson.
The cost of the field is $4 million although, according to City Manager Adam Brown, a grant from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department will be needed in order to fully fund the finishing of the field.
Brown also stated that at least another $1.5 million will be needed to complete the turf field’s second phase.
Average grants from the Oregon Parks Department are around $420,000 although they can go up to a maximum of $1 million.
In regards to naming the field, Brown stated that the choice would ultimately fall to the council, though also mentioned the naming could also be used as an opportunity to acquire a sponsor for the project.
Brown did not note any specific sponsors that had been looked at, however, he did state that he hopes it goes to someone local.
According to discussions held in previous city council meetings, a variety of organizations would like to use the field from local partners such as McNary High School, the Keizer Rugby Club and various soccer clubs.
The council has also mentioned in previous meetings the possibility of renting the field to sports teams outside of Keizer as another possible source of revenue, though nothing official has been mentioned, or who has shown interest.
Members of Keizer city staff join in on the ground breaking
Contact Quinn Stoddard
[email protected] or 503-390-1051
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