Officials from the City of Hattiesburg are continuing to move forward with their master plan for Tatum Park on Parkway Boulevard, with Hattiesburg City Council’s recent approval of a $2.7 million bid to build two football/soccer fields at the site.
Two bids were received for the project, both of which were opened and reviewed on April 13. Council members then awarded the bid to Sports Contractors Unlimited LLC, which submitted the lowest bid.
Council president Jeffrey George said the championship-size fields will consist of one turf field and one natural grass field. They will be located on the back side of Tatum Park, near Fields 17 and 18.
“Those will be kind of the two best fields we’ve got out at Tatum,” George said. “They’ll really help propel things forward to the next level.
“They’ll be able to used for both (soccer and football).”
Rotolo Consultants submitted the other bid at $3.3 million.
The following items are some of the measures included in the $2.7 million price tag:
- Construction of the synthetic turf system at approximately $1 million;
- Natural grass field at $146, 789;
- Irrigation system at $184,300;
- Mobilization at $120,000;
- Solid sodding at $73,850; and
- Excess excavation at $124,000.
“When you do a project like this and put in these types of fields, it involves a lot of drainage and underground work to make sure they drain properly and they can be used,” George said. “That’s kind of what leads to it being such nice fields.”
If all goes according to plan, officials hope to have the fields complete by this fall.
Currently, Tatum Park offers soccer, softball and baseball fields, along with a disc golf course and tennis complex.
“There’s plenty of amenities over there, but we just want to continue to invest in Tatum Park,” George said. “It’s such an asset, and it brings so many teams into our community to compete in tournaments.
“It’s also a great asset for the people in our community that use Tatum Park.”
