Editor’s Note: This is the first of two articles about the Hogan Park project ahead of John Norman’s meeting about the project Tuesday at the MLK Jr. Community Center. This article looks at the changes the Quality of Place Conservancy would like to see take place. The second article in Tuesday’s edition will again revisit the discussion of costs in renovating and then operating and maintaining the park.
By now Midland residents know there is a discussion that will take place about the finances involved with the maintenance and operations of Hogan Park in northeast Midland.
But for all talk that happened during the recent city council campaigns, there wasn’t much about the park — what it is now and what some hope it could be.
Hogan Park is a regional park that is currently home to soccer fields, the Bill Williams Softball Complex, baseball fields, playground equipment and two dog parks. In terms of age, it is a granddaddy of Midland’s regional parks system. And there are days it shows.
Hogan’s deterioration led a previous council to commit $10 million in certificates of obligation (non-approved debt) to putting some life into Hogan. It was that $10 million, along with the discussions of a Priority Midland Quality of Place committee of volunteers, that led to the ultimate plan for an upgrade that when completed will carry a higher price tag than the two stadiums at the Scharbauer Sports Complex in west midland
“The City of Midland graciously allowed the QOP committee to review the plans for Hogan and suggest design edits and to dream big and pivot the initial city-planned $10 million redo into an epicenter for outdoor recreational life for all Midlanders and visitors to our great city to enjoy and to be paid for mostly with private dollars,” according to a Quality of Place Conservancy opinion article that previously appeared in the Reporter-Telegram.
“In partnership with the city and the design firm, hired by the city, QOP added core design elements that include pavilions, food truck lanes, event lawns, innovative play, covered basketball courts and walking paths as well as future elements that would be sequenced in as additional funding is made available, such as sand volleyball courts, extended walking trails, additional play turf lawns.”
Today, the goal is to attempt to explain what Midlanders can expect.
The following is a list of what the conservancy is calling “core amenities.” They include:
- The Tall City Playground and Pavilion,
- a splash pad,
- The main gateway and promenade,
- A food truck pavilion and event lawn,
- A large and small dog park, and
- Concessions and restrooms.
The athletic/recreational opportunities will include:
- 14 turf baseball/softball fields, including those that current make up the Bill Williams Softball Complex,
- four grass baseball fields,
- Eight batting cases,
- Covered basketball and concession pavilion, and
- An interior trail system.
The Quality of Place Conservancy then lists “future amenities sequenced as funding is achieved.” Those amenities include
- five multipurpose fields (soccer, football, etc.) on the park’s north end,
- A northside playground,
- A northside turf lawn,
- Shaded quad playground and seating,
- four batting cages,
- Three sand volleyball courts, and
- Loop trail and extension.
Note: Upon completion of both trail systems, it will total about 7 miles.
Odds and ends about the park include:
- The Great Lawn area in the southeast portion of park across from Sibley Nature Center is roughly the same size of Centennial Park downtown.
- The Hogan project covers about 120 acres. As a comparison, Centennial Park in the heart of downtown is about 3.5 acres. The Scharbauer Sports Complex, when it was built in 2000-2002, was said to be around 100 acres.
- Several months ago, the Quality of Place group formed a task force to help think through processes and usage. That task force now includes individual residents, a city council member, city staff and officials representing club soccer, the local soccer association, football, club baseball, local baseball and softball.
- This park is a major construction project that will take time to complete, and the intent is to sequence construction based on funding for amenities and to build in such a way that the construction minimizes impact to areas not currently being worked so that portions of the park are usable while other areas are under construction.