By JEFFREY SMITH
Leader staff writer
It was fitting that sprinkles fell during the groundbreaking of the $13.5 million Cabot Sports and Aquatics Complex on Thursday on Hwy. 321 next to Holland Bottom Farms. Construction will begin next week.
“Today is just one step toward proving the city’s dedication to providing the comprehensive park and recreation system the residents of Cabot have called for,” parks director John Crow said.
“This facility will not only meet the immediate needs of the community, but also those of an area that will continue to grow as we improve our facilities and services around the city,” Crow said.
Parks commission chairman Maggie Cope said it was a day the city had been looking forward to. “It will impact the lives of children, seniors and the entire community.”
Mayor Bill Cypert said the sports complex and water park will add to the quality of life and cause economic development.
The $5.3 million sports complex will have nine baseball fields, two football fields, playgrounds, batting cages, pavilions and a walking track, lighting and a concession stand. It will open in fall 2015.
The water park will have a four-lane swimming pool, a slide pool, a walk-in pool, a lazy winding river, a bathhouse, a concession stand and outdoor private-party area. It will open in summer 2015.
Money for the ballpark and water-park projects comes from a one-cent sales tax reapproved by voters last year. The tax supports a $42 million bond issue for sewer
improvements, a new freeway interchange, a new library and drainage work in
the Highlands subdivision.
At the groundbreaking, Cypert made a surprise announcement that a larger senior center with a therapeutic pool has been put on the city’s list of long-term plans. “It’s been long overdue,” he said.
The mayor said the project is in the earliest concept stages.