While closed for the winter season, the Chickasha Sports Complex underwent major upgrades to the facility that will increase player safety, field playability and facility aesthetics.
 “It’s been about five years since our fields were leveled, and that has caused us to lose out on hosting some big tournaments,” said Kyle Marks, Director of Parks and Recreation. “Now that we are getting this work done, prioritizing field conditions and player safety, those tournaments are wanting to return to Chickasha.”
 United Turf and Track, an Oklahoma-based company, performed field-leveling work on fields 12-15 over the course of two weeks. This company was selected due to their expertise; they have performed field leveling and restoration for the Oklahoma City Dodgers, the five-time National Championship winning University of Oklahoma softball team, Oklahoma State University softball, and many other major universities and organizations.
 As part of the leveling, United Turf and Track brought in approximately 50 yards of dirt to each field. In the coming weeks, the company will complete leveling on the remaining 11 fields.
 The fields had not been leveled for more than five years, resulting in an uneven playing surface that often held water and contributed to rained-out games. In 2021, the Complex’s sprinkler system was repaired. Irrigation is important to the maintenance of the newly-leveled fields, so crews also worked in the offseason to fix small leaks and ready the system for the season.
 To ensure crews are prepared to care for fields, all Sports Complex employees have taken a training on high-use sports facility maintenance.
 In addition to the field leveling, new walking path lighting was installed and the bathrooms were remodeled with new plumbing, upgraded sinks and fixtures, a fresh coat of paint and much-needed repairs.
 “The lights along the walking path were replaced with new LED fixtures, and we will finish that project by painting all of the light poles once the temperatures are warm enough,” Marks said. “The LEDs will also help with cost savings, and they’re on a timer to ensure lights are only on dusk to dawn.”
 Repairs were also performed on dugouts and the foul poles were repainted for visibility. Cleanup work was completed on trees and flowerbeds around the Complex, getting the facility ready to welcome visitors.
 “We hope to bring in better players, better teams to Chickasha,” Marks said. “Nearly half a million people from across the country come to tournaments here in Chickasha, and we want them to see that not only do we have an outstanding venue, we are taking care of our facilities and the fields they are playing on. When they see these priorities, they’ll keep coming back.”
 The season will get started on February 18-19 with the Southern Collegiate Sports NAIA Invitational Oklahoma. The first three games will start at 11 a.m. on February 18 and feature the third-ranked University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma Drovers vs. #6 Columbia College, #4 Oklahoma City University vs. Tabor College, and Mid-America Christian University vs. York College. In all, nine NAIA schools will be playing at the Complex during the Invitational.
 Throughout the spring and summer, you can watch Chickasha Youth Baseball & Softball teams playing on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings; Chickasha Youth Soccer Association games on Sunday evenings; Oklahoma Youth Sports Development League football games on Saturdays; and baseball and softball tournaments most weekends. To view upcoming events, visit chickasha.org/sports