A planned indoor sports field in East Whatcom will fill the recreation gap

In the coming years, Kendall residents will no longer have to travel far to play on a sports field.

The state Department of Recreation and Conservation is committing more than $2 million to two projects in Whatcom County. One of those is a proposed sports complex north of Kendall at the East Whatcom Regional Resource Center. The other is an upgrade to Nooksack Valley High School’s stadium, replacing grass with artificial turf.

The resource center courtyard, to be developed by the county’s Parks and Recreation Department, will have a roof “with partially enclosed sides” so the space will be functional year-round, according to the project description. There will be facilities for basketball, volleyball, pickleball and more.

The county’s parks department owns the property on which the resource center is located, while the Opportunity Council manages day-to-day operations.

Currently, locals must travel approximately 17 miles to use the tennis court at Lynden Park and 12 miles to use the basketball court at Everson Park, the project summary continued.

A sports facility has always been part of the plan for the resource center campus, said Dave Bramer, special projects manager in the parks department.

In 2021, the department received a similar grant for the athletic field, but had to pass on the money when bids for the project came in higher than expected.

The project is fully funded by the state at approximately $1.2 million. If everything goes as smoothly as possible, it could be completed as early as the end of next year, Bramer said.

In the Nooksack Valley School District, an artificial turf field would make a big difference for high school students.

Currently, the stadium can only be used for games and not practice, said Superintendent Matt Galley, because the turf needs to be kept in the best possible condition.

That means the high school football teams have to use the field at Nooksack Elementary due to space constraints, he said. The high school girls’ varsity softball team uses the middle school facilities.

The turf is also sensitive to weather conditions, an important factor during the rainy winters of the Pacific Northwest. An artificial turf field would be more durable, Galley said.

However, the district still needs to figure out how to implement the project. The state is granting the district $813,945, while the entire project could cost about $3 million, he said. District leaders do not intend to use tax dollars to finance the upgrades.

Donations could partially fund the project, as could partnerships with local businesses, Galley suggested, but the district is still in the process of exploring those options. Companies would likely have to donate the money over a specific period of time, which may not align with the grant timeline.

In this funding program, development projects like this must be completed in two to three years, said Susan Zemek, a spokeswoman for the state office. Grantees may request an extension from the Director of Recreation and Conservation at least 60 days prior to the expected completion date.

District leaders will meet with Recreation and Conservation Office staff to learn more about their options, Galley said. They may have to pass on the grant or come to an agreement with the state to currently only use the money to complete the initial phase of the project.

The school board will speak at its Nov. 21 meeting, he said.

Sophia Gates covers rural Whatcom and Skagit counties. She is a Washington State Murrow Fellow whose work is taxpayer-funded and available outside of CDN’s paywall. Reach her at [email protected]; 360-922-3090 ext 131.