Less than a year after breaking ground, Sapulpa Public Schools held a grand opening Monday for the Westside Baseball and Softball Complex located at 1620 S. Cheyenne Road. The new facility is just east of the district’s soccer and track sports complex.
The Westside Baseball and Softball Complex is the first major building project completed in the Chieftain Stronger Bond issue, passed by voters in the fall of 2023. Reed Architecture and Interiors of Sapulpa designed the fields and practice facility and D.C. Bass & Sons Construction Company managed the construction project.
The grand opening ceremony accompanied Monday’s double header versus U.S. Grant. The event was attended by current Sapulpa Chieftain Baseball varsity head coach Steve Irvine, his coaching team, and baseball players of all ages. SHS baseball alumni, former coaches, district administration and community leaders were also in attendance.
Assistant Superintendent Johnny Bilby threw out a ceremonial first pitch caught by Sapulpa High School Principal Seth Shibley. Both Bilby and Shibley played baseball for the Chieftains while attending Sapulpa High School. Shibley previously served as head coach of the Chieftains’ varsity baseball team.
Project architect Bryan Broaddrick and CEO and founder of Reed Architecture and Interiors, David Reed, also threw out a ceremonial first pitch, caught by DC Bass & Sons construction manager Cade Cabbiness, who spent countless hours overseeing the Westside facility project.
Between the two games versus U.S. Grant, Chieftains varsity baseball coach Steve Irvine and district administrators took the field for a ribbon cutting. They cut a large blue ribbon alongside Sapulpa Mayor Craig Henderson, Chamber of Commerce president Janet Birnie and Chamber of Commerce members, marking the official grand opening of the Westside Baseball and Softball Complex, where the Chieftains will finish out the 2025 baseball season.
The Westside Complex includes a baseball field and a softball field, both with artificial turf, an indoor practice facility with locker rooms, concession stand, and a full-size indoor practice field with artificial turf. The Westside facility is a new era for Sapulpa Baseball, which had played on the aging L.D. Lawson field for decades, facing multiple rain delays and cancellations and other issues brought on by years of use.
“This is very impressive,” said Coach Irvine. “I am lucky to have the opportunity to coach here and we are grateful to the Sapulpa community for giving us this opportunity.”
The district will hold a grand opening ceremony for Sapulpa Lady Chieftains Softball in the fall.
For more information about Sapulpa Public Schools and the Chieftain Stronger bond package, visit sapulpaps.org/Bond2023.
(Drone photos of Sapulpa’s new baseball facility, courtesy of Drone Jedi.)
