Regional sports venues top notch
The size and quality of regional sports venues are keeping pace with the growth of area communities.
In Texarkana, all three public school districts have upgraded playing fields and facilities in the past decade or so.
The most recent expansion was the addition of a football field and competitive gymnasium at Pleasant Grove High School on the Texas side.
Hawk Stadium, which seats 3,500 people, was a $2.5 million project completed in 2009. At the same time, the school built the $6.5 million Hawk Gym, with accompanying offices, dressing rooms and training rooms.
Attached to that building was a $1 million indoor multipurpose building large enough to house football, soccer or baseball practices.
In September 2008, Texarkana Independent School District dedicated Tiger Stadium at Grim Park at the 93rd renewal of the Texas High-Arkansas High football rivalry. The 9,500-seat stadium on Summerhill Road got its first major facelift in 55 years. A new playing surface, larger concession and restroom areas and more open space were part of a $6 million upgrade.
In the fall of 2014, Tiger fans welcomed a new scoreboard with video display.
Texarkana, Ark., School District built a new athletics field house and offices in 2005 and has built new softball and baseball fields nearby.
Razorback Stadium, which seats nearly 10,000, is in the middle of significant upgrades. A new scoreboard with video display was installed this spring, the field is to be re-turfed this summer, and renovations to the bleachers and stadium seats are in the offing.
In 2013 and 2014, Razorback Stadium hosted the first two games of the Live United Texarkana Bowl, which features a postseason matchup of NCAA Division II teams.
Another nice playing facility is the Don Rader Dome, named after a former Liberty-Eylau school superintendent. Opened in 2003, it has been the site of numerous basketball and volleyball games and tournaments, academic competitions and military band and chorale concerts.
Another modern playing arena is the Eugene Sloan Memorial Gymnasium in Queen City, Texas, and one of the most up-to-date facilities in the region is Scrapper Arena in Nashville, Ark. The 1,800-seat building, opened in late 2013, has a video display and meets all the requirements of the Arkansas Athletic Association to host regional and state tournaments.