We’re mere months away from the opening of the highly anticipated Lee County Athletic Park, and the latest photos released by Sanford Contractors Inc. confirm the fields and facilities have come a long way since last summer.
In a recent post on Facebook, Sanford Contractors revealed 10 photos that revealed the completed installation of two large turf soccer fields, the near completion of four baseball/softball fields, and ground leveled areas for additional grass soccer fields. The photos also show a completed parking lot and roundabout, several fieldhouses, the beginnings of a community playground and nearby land where a new residential/commercial development is planned.
The plan for the past year has been to open the $27 million sports complex in July of this year. According to Joseph Keel, director for Lee County Parks and Recreation, that timeframe is still very much in play.
“Everything is still on target for opening up later this year,” Keel told The Rant on Feb. 25. “Lee County Athletic Park is really coming together, and it’s amazing to see the progress.”
The complex is the result of a $25 million county bond initiative approved by voters in 2020 with almost 59 percent of the vote. There was a pause in planning during the pandemic, when the economy ballooned cost estimates of the original plans and forced the county to retool those plans. Sanford Contractors was awarded the bid for $26.8 million in September 2023, and ground broke three months later.
any idea what the final cost will be? how much more money in change orders is being spent?