The city of Davenport says it's constructing the first phase of a planned two-phase athletic-facility project that's expected to have a total cost of close to $2 million.

The current $856,000 phase includes a high-school-sized baseball field, two Little League fields, a basketball court, some playground equipment, and a picnic shelter, says Steve Goemmel, Davenport's city administrator.

The city is seeking grant funding for the roughly $1 million second phase, which would include two softball fields, two football-soccer fields, and a trail system, Goemmel says.

The facility, to be called the Davenport Sports Complex, will be located on 40 acres of city-owned land north of Lincoln Hospital. Davenport is about 36 miles west of Spokane. State Route 25 borders the east side of the project site, and McInnis Road borders its north and west sides.

Halme Construction Inc., of Davenport, is the contractor on the current phase. The overall project was designed by the Spokane office of Thomas, Dean & Hoskins Inc., a Great Falls, Mont.-based engineering firm. Sherry Pratt Van Voorhis PS, of Spokane, is the project's landscape architect.

Most of the work will be done this spring, but the fields, which were planted recently, won't be ready for play until next year, Goemmel says.

The city expects the larger baseball field will be used by Davenport High School baseball teams, because the Davenport School District is updating and expanding its classroom space and eliminating its baseball field, he says.

The first phase of the sports complex is being funded through the city's general fund and councilmatic bonds, Goemmel says. A councilmatic bond is a financing tool that allows a municipality to take on a limited amount of debt to be repaid through the city's general fund without requiring voter approval.