By Traci Chapman
Published on August 9, 2008

Mustang resident Daniel Cave has a dream — to bring a sports complex and amphitheater to Mustang — and he has assembled a group of investors to try to bring that dream to life.

Cave came to Tuesday’s City Council meeting to gauge the Council’s interest in the plan, he said. He told members he has a group of investors interested in building a sport complex with 8 to 10 baseball fields, football and soccer fields, a concession area, as well as an outdoor amphitheater. Cave said the sports facilities would be similar to — if not identical to, contingent on city approval — plans prepared by city staff for the April bond election.

The cost of the project would be borne by Cave’s investment group, and there would be no cost to the city or tax increase proposed to fund construction or operation of the facility.

“We are looking at an amphitheater that would be open from about the end of May until the last of September or early October,” he said. “The sports complex would, of course, be open year-round.”

The sports facility would be “built to city specifications,” Cave said. Voters rejected a $3 million complex in an April bond election.

Cave said the hurdle he faces is selling the project to Council members. Although Cave said he has had meetings with City Manager David Cockrell about the project, he was not sure if there was sufficient interest by Council members for his group to develop a full-fledged proposal.

“David Cockrell has been great to work with — it’s just been a situation where we wanted to know if this is really a possibility and whether the City Council would even truly consider it,” Cave said.

Landrith said he told Cave he could speak to Council Tuesday before knowing the full history of the meetings between Cave and city staff. He directed Cave back to Cockrell Tuesday, saying, “He (Cockrell) has a very good feel for what is good for the city and what should be presented to us.”

Cockrell said the problem with Cave’s appearance before Council Tuesday — which Cave said happened as a result of an invitation from Mayor Jeff Landrith — is that he needs a full-fledged proposal for city staff to even begin the process of analyzing Cave’s project.

Cave pitching his proposal to members was premature, Cockrell said, because without a detailed proposal from Cave’s group, there is no basis for the city to start any type of negotiations or analysis of the project.

“There’s a lot of due diligence city staff has to do in order for me to even think about bringing this before the Council,” he said. “I have no idea what this group is proposing — this is a complicated, complex issue that needs to be fully explored.

To do anything at all, we need a proposal showing funding, what kind of complex and amphitheater he (Cave) is proposing, the location he is looking at and lots of other variables.”

Cave said after going before Council, he realized submitting a proposal to Cockrell is the only way to move the project forward.

“My frustration was that after several meetings, I could not get a real feel whether members of the Council would even look at it, and putting together a proposal with an artist’s rendering and figures costs money,” he said. “However, I understand now that’s exactly what needs to happen, so we’ll work on that as quickly as possible.”

The investment group is meeting Monday, Cave said, and he hopes to bring a proposal back to Cockrell before the Council’s next meeting.

“I don’t know if that is too soon to get it on their next agenda, but I’m hoping that’s possible,” he said.

Landrith submitted a petition to city staff last week, aimed at putting a proposed ¼-cent sales tax increase before voters to fund a new baseball complex, he said.

His petition included not only sports facilities, but also a platform for an “outdoor theater,” five large pavilions, a playground and additional picnic tables. He said Thursday he is weighing whether to present the petition at Council’s Aug. 19 meeting or go ahead with getting signatures.