Plans by a group of running enthusiasts to help develop a public track on an underutilized portion of Brooks Park behind McKinley Middle Magnet School appear to have hit a snag. BREC, which owns the park, has been meeting with the group, led by Varsity Sports owner Jenni Peters, and is willing to make some property available for the project—but only enough to build a 333-meter track, not a regulation-length 400-meter track.
After meeting with BREC officials on Tuesday last week, Varsity Sports posted an update on its Facebook page and asked supporters whether they’d be willing to help raise $200,000 to fund a 333-meter track. Their response was overwhelmingly negative.
“‘Why bother’ seems to be the consensus,” Peters says. “It’s not up to me, but I have to ask people to help me raise the money, and people don’t want to spend that much money if it’s not a regulation track.”
Peters, who has promoted running in the community for nearly three decades, proposed the track in July for a roughly four-acre site off Dalrymple Drive near the Raising Cane’s Dog Park. Until recently, several local high school tracks were available for public use, but as those facilities have been upgraded, they’ve become closed off to the public.
BREC Superintendent Carolyn McKnight has said she supports the idea but wants to keep some of the property open for use as a softball field for McKinley Middle Magnet. She tells Daily Report it was never her understanding that the runners wanted to build a regulation-length track.
“When they approached us they were talking about a place to practice, not a place to hold track meets,” McKnight says. “We can build a practice track but not a facility for track meets.”
BREC’s proposed track would include a softball field in the center. It is unclear whether Varsity’s Sports’ plans could be tweaked to include space for a softball field. What is clear, based on social media, is that the running community sees no point in raising money to build a track that couldn’t be used for sanctioned sporting events.
“That is a great place for a 400 meter track!,” writes Rebecca Farris Penniman on Varsity Sports’ Facebook page. “My daughter is at McKinley Middle and they use that park during P.E. etc. It is a nice jog from City Park. Come on BREC do it right and make it a standard 400m!”
Adds Patrick Fellows: “I have a 333 meter track in my front yard. It’s called the street. This is a waste of time and effort. Let’s make some 39-yard soccer fields while we are at it.”
McKnight says nothing has been decided and she is still open to talking to the group.
—Stephanie Riegel
