Pahrump to issue a Request for Proposals to determine cost of new sports fields.

The town of Pahrump has two parks with fields that can accommodate sports, Petrack and Ian Deutch Memorial parks, but even with these two options available, local sports teams still struggle with field allocations.

With this knowledge in mind, officials have been planning to bring new sports fields to the Pahrump Fairgrounds and after many years of pursuing this project, they have now taken a major step forward.

This week, the Nye County Commission, sitting as the governing body of the town of Pahrump, authorized staff to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP)seeking companies that have the experience and know-how to build sports fields. At the same time, the board also gave the green-light to an adjustment of the proposed fields layout, a move prompted by the potential for tournament play.

“Our previous layout was eight multi-purpose fields [and] they are a lot smaller,” Pahrump Buildings and Grounds Manager Jimmy Martinez explained at the board’s Jan. 21 meeting, noting that this layout had been decided more than a decade ago. “Learning that we need larger fields to hold adequate tournaments as they arise, now they are bigger so, with the area that we have, we shrunk down to six.”

Martinez added that with the size of the Pahrump Fairgrounds – about 427 acres – there would still be ample room to build additional sports fields in the future.

“What does it cost to build a field?” commissioner John Koenig queried, to which Martinez responded, “In what time frame?”

“I would say that’s a sensitive question in that, until we go out for a Request for Proposal, we really don’t know,” commissioner Debra Strickland chimed in.

Giving a broad figure, Martinez noted a park in Las Vegas that was built about a year ago included eight multi-purpose fields at a cost of $15 million. However, as Strickland stated, the true cost of the fairgrounds sports fields project can only be determined by a Request for Proposals process.

“Just to be clear, this [layout adjustment] is not awarding any dollar amount,” commissioner Ron Boskovich stressed.

Strickland made a motion to approve the updated layout for the sports fields and to direct staff to go out for a Request for Proposals, “So we might know what that would cost.”

Koenig quickly offered a second and the motion passed with all in favor.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com