31 Jul Community Foundation Awards Blacketor Sports Complex with Impact Grant
Fulton County Community Foundation awarded it’s first Impact Grant of 2019 to the Brent Blacketor Sports Complex with $61,500 for infrastructure upgrades to the facility including the addition of a new concession stand. In addition to the Community Foundation’s Impact Grant, the project received community wide support from individuals, organizations, businesses and the City of Rochester.
The land for the sports complex was donated through the Community Foundation in 1998 by Mabel Blacketor in memory of her late son Brent. This multiuse facility is used and managed in part by the Fulton County Youth Soccer Association, Rochester Girls’ Softball, and the Rochester Community School Corporation.
A significant environmental and public safety benefit of the grant is the connection of city sewer lines to the sports complex. A new concession stand is the most visible feature of the Impact Grant and features three restrooms and storage space. Located at the soccer field area of the complex, this concession stand will serve an estimated 6,000 spectators and players each year.
The Brent Blacketor Sports Complex Board of Directors used this improvement opportunity to reach out to the community to help raise money to install ADA compliant sidewalks within the facility. With the addition of these sidewalks, those who struggle with gravel and grass surfaces due to mobility issues will find it easier to attend games and enjoy the complex with friends and family.
“These Impact Grants help us make an investment in Fulton County,” said Brian Johnson, Director of Development of the Fulton County Community Foundation. “Seeing organizations become energized through these projects if another benefit of these grants”.
To see the upgrades of the facility, visit The Brent Blacketor Sports Complex located at East 4th Street in Rochester east of State Road 25.