Two separate sports field complexes are expected to get under way later this summer in Cheney: a 20-acre park planned by Cheney Public Schools and a 50-acre park slated by the city of Cheney.

For the school district's $2 million field complex, to be called Crunk's Hill Sports Field, the Cheney school district awarded a contract this month to Lydig Construction Inc., of Spokane, which is the same contractor building the $24.8 million Cheney Middle School nearby.

The new sports field, west of Sixth Street and directly south of that middle school construction site, also will be about a block away from Cheney High School, and it's designed to be used as athletic practice fields by both the middle school and high school.

Jeff McClure, district director of maintenance and operations, says he expects the sports field construction to be done by the end of the summer.

NAC|Architecture Inc., of Spokane, designed the park complex, which McClure says will include two softball fields to the east with outfields that can be combined to make a soccer or band practice field.

The property will have a permanent soccer field on the south side and a baseball field on the west side that also will offer space for soccer practices in the outfield, as well as a building with restrooms and concessions, he says.

"This is mostly for JV (junior varsity) teams to practice on and some JV games," McClure says. "The varsity fields will still be in use at the high school."

He adds, "The high school is land-locked by the neighborhood. This will take a lot of pressure off trying to find a place for the teams to practice."

The park's construction will require the removal of the hill for which the Crunk's Hill Sports Field is named—to the tune of about 110,000 cubic yards of dirt—which the district is donating to the city of Cheney for its nearby 50-acre park project, McClure says.

The city received a $500,000 grant from the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program toward an estimated $1 million first phase of its 50-acre park, located at the northeast corner of Betz Road and what is often called old Betz Road.

With that state grant and a separate $10,000 donation, as well as in-kind services provided by Cheney Public Schools and residential construction company Lanzce G. Douglass Inc., the city is ready to begin site preparation this summer, says Paul Simmons, Cheney parks and recreation director.

"We're accepting that dirt (from the school district) this summer," Simmons says. "Our property is a little low and we need to raise it up to the road level to avoid drainage issues in the spring."

Simmons adds that the city expects construction of the first few fields in the 50-acre park to begin next spring—and for the fields to be ready to use in 2013. A 2008 master plan proposes four sports fields, mainly for softball and Little League, he says. If additional funding is available, later plans call for basketball and tennis courts among other features.

The district's sports field park and the city's planned 50-acre park are expected to share another link. A future pedestrian and bicycle trail is planned to connect the two park facilities, Simmons says.

In 2012, the city also plans to use an $807,000 grant from the state Transportation Improvement Board to extend Simpson Parkway to the west, to run along the northern section of the planned Crunk's Hill Sports Field.