Renovations complete at the "Bubble"

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - The Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department just finished $1 million in renovations on Cape Girardeau’s Central Pool. The pool was officially re-opened on Monday.

The renovations of the Cape Central Pool include repainting and resurfacing the pool and the creation of a new fabric cover, or “bubble”, for the off season.

Recreation Division Manager Penny Williams helped coordinate the project. She is excited to see the culmination of the renovations.

"This is just one of the projects. We were planning ten projects in ten years," Williams says. "We have accomplished most of those. This is the last of the major projects that we are going to do with the exception of some park improvements."

Williams says the Parks and Recreation Initiative has helped beautify and create recreation areas, as well as create jobs for local contractors.

Since its approval in 2008, the Parks and Recreation and Storm Water Initiative has funded the Cape Splash Water Park, the Shawnee Park Sports complex and numerous sewer repairs throughout Cape Girardeau.

Hannah Parent, KRCU

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Cape Girardeau unveils Shawnee Sports Complex Expansion

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - Cape Girardeau’s Parks and Recreation Department unveiled the $2.4 million expansion to its Shawnee Sports Complex Monday morning.

The expansion boasts two new fields for soccer and football, three additional fields for baseball and softball, and two new concession stands.

The new facilities will expand the complex capacity by 50%.

The project is the last in a series of Parks and Recreation improvements that were approved and funded by voters in 2008 in the form of a park and storm water tax.

Recreation Division Manager Scott Williams says that the city anticipated that it would take 5 years to complete all the projects. Instead they finished two years ahead of schedule.

"As we got in to it, we were having better success moving forward," Williams said. "More people wanted their projects done so as long as time and effort was there and as long as we could do it the right way we were fine with that and we just went ahead and did it and we were very happy with how it’s turned out."

Williams says the city now has the capacity to attract state and national sporting tournaments.

Convention and Visitor’s Bureau executive director Chuck Martin says that sports tournaments reverberate throughout the community.

"Anytime you hold a tournament, it typically fills our hotels. Those folks are eating in our restaurants, they’re shopping in our shops. They’re filling up their cars with gasoline while in the community," Martin said. "So it definitely has a very dramatic economic impact."

Cape Girardeau already scheduled a pair of high school championships. The Missouri State High School Activities Association will hold its high school volleyball championship in Cape Girardeau's Show Me Center for four years straight beginning next year. Additionally, Dalhousie will host the Missouri High School Golf Championship.

Martin adds that these Missouri State High School Activities Association championships are the first in southeast Missouri in 75 years.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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