PHILLIPSBURG – The Phillips County Community Foundation and Dane G Hansen Foundation recently awarded a grant to the City of Phillipsburg that will allow initial work to begin on the proposed Albert and Leona Morgan Sports Complex.
The Albert and Leona Morgan Foundation have agreed to donate 62 acres of land located along Highway 36 northwest of Phillipsburg to the city for the purpose of building a youth soccer and baseball complex, to include four baseball fields, two practice fields, four soccer fields, concession/restroom facility, a walking path around the perimeter and adequate parking.
The Foundation grant of $8,500 will be used for a topographic survey of the site, preliminary concept plan development and installation of a temporary sign on the property.
The city is working with Driggs Design Group of Manhattan to perform the topographic survey and concept plan development. The timeline for the work will be determined after discussions with Driggs but the goal will be to have the work done within the next few months.
“The City of Phillipsburg greatly appreciates the PCCF and the Hansen Foundation for providing these funds,” said Scott Aust, Phillipsburg’s Community Development Director. “What a great resource these two organizations are for our community and others in Northwest Kansas. We can’t thank them enough for their support.”
Additional grants and private donations are being pursued to raise funds for full design and construction of the complex.
The proposed project originated out of the Dane G. Hansen Strategic Doing Initiative (SDI) in 2018. It is one of several proposed quality of life projects included in Phillipsburg’s Vision 2030 strategic planning to address economic issues facing our area, including jobs, housing and workforce development.
The Sports Complex SDI team believes the proposed facility will encourage physical activity; bring in regional tournaments and sporting events that will provide an economic boost for local motels, restaurants and businesses; and aid in business recruitment and retention.
In addition, the complex will centralize baseball and softball fields to allow families to watch all of their children’s games at one site, and will reduce the amount of time devoted to field maintenance. Centralizing fields into one complex also will free up valuable land within Phillipsburg that will be used for other SDI projects.