The community celebrated the opening of the new Wendel Whisenhunt Sports Complex, with a ceremony and outdoor soccer fun Saturday, October 3. The sports complex is named after Wendel Whisenhunt, who served as the City’s Parks & Recreation Director from 1996 until 2014.
The festivities included a ribbon cutting ceremony presided over by Ward 3 Councilman Larry McAtee. The ribbon cutting was followed by bubble soccer and youth soccer drills.
Members of the Oklahoma City Police and Fire Departments took part in a demonstration bubble soccer match. Child-sized bubbles were also available for kids to try. The free youth soccer skills clinics drills were hosted by representatives from the local Nike community outreach.
The new multi-sport complex, located in a portion of Woodson Park on the west side of I-44, features 18 adult and youth soccer fields, plus ADA-accessible spectator areas, restrooms and concession stand. Additional amenities include an adult-sized baseball field, basketball round, new playground area and landscaped parking lots.
The playground features two GameTime Powerscape play structures, swings, other freestanding activities and both Engineered Wood Fiber and Poured-in-Place Rubber safety surfacing. Cunningham Recreation is especially proud of this project since Nick Whisenhunt, son of Wendel Whisenhunt, is our Midwest Regional Sales Manager and resides in Oklahoma as well.
The Parks & Recreation Department will operate the complex and concession stand, starting with its youth soccer league beginning this October.
The project cost $5.2 million and was funded through the 2007 General Obligation Bond.
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