LAWTON – When the Lawton City Council approved a proposal to build the city’s youth sports complex in Elmer Thomas Park, several residents complained that the park would be spoiled.
Nearly three months later, opponents of the proposal said they supported the sports complex but wanted the city to put it somewhere else.
“Excited for a sports complex to be built, but Elmer Thomas Park is not the place for it,” Lawton resident Dana Milbank Moore wrote on the Southwest Ledger’s Facebook page, where the newspaper asked people for their thoughts on the subject. “I feel the whole area would turn into a giant parking lot.”
Another resident, Jason Burd, wrote: “Not a good idea to put it in ETP. I see more and more people taking advantage of this park every year. A sports complex is a good idea, but ETP is the wrong place.”
Resident Kathy Miller wrote: “Leave Elmer Thomas Park alone! I truly cannot believe anyone thought that was a good idea. If we cannot afford any other location, then we are not ready for a sports complex!”
Resident Marjory Bailey said she thought the park was the wrong location for a sports venue.
“People go to the park for down time and appreciate a quiet, clean atmosphere,” she wrote. “The sports complex is intended to be a place to work off steam and have a good (louder) time. It needs space for parking and growth. There may be sports and activities added so more people can participate.”
Other people said placing the complex in Elmer Thomas would cause traffic problems in the neighborhood.
“I believe that the designers would make it look as nice as possible in the park, but that doesn’t help the traffic issue at 3rd and Ferris,” Lawton resident Jeff Sadler wrote. “There are many other locations that would want the traffic that the park doesn’t need.”
Another resident, David Tollett, said he did not object to putting the complex in Elmer Thomas – but he thought the city should move the facility closer to the Museum of the Great Plains and McMahon Memorial Auditorium.
“There (is) plenty of space and maybe be able to use existing parking,” he wrote. “I’m also interested in hearing other places, but they need to be on places already owned by the city. Many of the places suggested are not owned by the city and will add $$$$ to the total build.
“As far as traffic goes, it’s going to add traffic to any area. The park has three ways in and out.”
Conceptual design
The architectural firm Stantec Architecture prepared the conceptual design for the sports complex, which calls for an 86,000-square-foot building complete with basketball courts, an indoor soccer field, a walking track and other features. The complex will be located southwest of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and east of the playground in Elmer Thomas Park, overlooking Lake Helen.
The city will finance the project with part of the proceeds from a 2.125% sales tax, which voters approved in 2020 to pay for a slate of capital improvements.
John Shiver, principal architect with Stantec, said in December that putting the complex in Elmer Thomas Park would be good for the park and the community.
“I think what we do by placing this building here is interject an opportunity for life to happen and bringing activities and people into it,” he said at the council’s Dec. 14 meeting.
Councilwoman Mary Ann Hankins said in December that she thought the sports complex would make the park more attractive, based on the design that Stantec Architecture had presented. She told the Ledger on Saturday that she feels the same way today.
“I kind of feel like it would be a nice gathering place for families,” she said.
Councilman Randy Warren, who voted to approve the conceptual design in December, said Saturday he thought at the time that the design fit well with the landscape in Elmer Thomas Park.
“I thought it was the best choice of all that we had, without having to buy more property,” he said.
Warren said he has not changed his position on the issue since then.
“Unless someone shows me some property that we don’t have to buy that would serve the purpose,” he said.