TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION) — Nearly a year after an EF2 tornado caused significant damage to the Troy Parks and Recreation Center, also known as the Troy Sportsplex, progress is being made, and big changes are coming.
“Historic renovations” are how Troy Parks and Recreation Director Dan Smith is describing what is taking place across the City of Troy’s recreational facilities.
“The children utilize the Sportsplex for baseball, softball, soccer, and flag football, but it means so much more to the families who support the children,” Smith said. “It is just an integral part of the community and the fabric of life in Troy.”
After securing a multi-million-dollar insurance bond, the city announced the fields at the Troy Sportsplex and Franklin Park would not only be repaired but also improved.
Improvements at the parks include new LED lighting, new black vinyl chain link, the backstops will be nets with brick knee walls that range from first base to third base, enlarged dugouts, new drainage system to keep water off the playing fields after a storm and every infield has been dug out four inches and will be replaced with a professional blend of infield material.
For the parents in the stands, shade will be added over every set of bleachers and overhead netting will be within the ballparks to protect guests from foul balls.
The Miracle League Field of Troy was also totally resurfaced after being destroyed last March.
LOOKING BACK: EF2 tornado sweeps through Troy, leaves damage across the city
After completing the fields, the city will focus on new facilities that citizens have been asking for.
“We get emails, and phone calls, and people we will meet them in shopping centers, in Walmart, and they’ll say ‘Hey, we really need a dog park in Troy or we really need pickleball courts in Troy,’ and we listen to our customers and listen to the community and try to provide as many facilities and as many opportunities as we can,” Smith said.
The citizens of Troy will soon have a new nine-court pickleball shaded complex, a dog park, a disc golf course, a new pavilion with restrooms adjacent to the Recreation Center playground, a new kiddie wading pool and a splashpad at the Rec Center. There will also be renovations at Knox Park, with other improvements still not announced.
City officials hope the construction of the fields will be done in the next two to three weeks. The reason for the deadline is spring sports.
“We always start our regular seasons in the first week of April, and we are hoping we can still do that this year. It may be limited practices, but that is our goal is to still open for play the first week of April.”
The city is focusing on the fields at the Sportsplex before sending the construction crews to Franklin Park to complete its construction. The other renovations will come after the completion of all the fields.
