Fairbanks grant would fix the Davis Road turf fields and start closing Kiwanis Field

A federal grant the Fairbanks North Star Borough Parks and Recreation Commission considers Monday, Sept. 21, would buy accessible bleachers, permanent restrooms and improved site access at the Davis Road artificial turf complex, and begin the first phase of preparing to decommission Kiwanis Field behind the Big Dipper.

The complex serves youth and adult sports leagues as well as visitors to the area, and has received no major improvements since the turf fields were installed in 2014, according to a draft letter addressed to Parks and Recreation Director Matthew Boyer. Access to and throughout the complex is "very limited," the letter says. Commission Chair Mark Oldmixon wrote that "there are no accessible bleachers for spectators, and there are no permanent restrooms."

The application would go to the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Program, a federal parks grant drawn from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The complex is eligible because it already sits inside a conservation fund site. The project carries $1.6 million in the borough's multi-year capital plan, programmed for the 2035 budget year, lower than the $2 million a 2025 borough resolution had listed for the same construction and decommissioning work. The grant program allows up to half a project's total cost to be requested, and the packet does not say how much the borough would request or when it is due.

Decommissioning Kiwanis Field is part of a larger plan to build an Interior Field House, programmed at $66 million under a 2025 resolution with a floor large enough for a full-size soccer field, basketball courts and a jogging track. Nearby borough fields, including South Davis Park and the Wilbur Street complex, are leased to the Fairbanks Youth Soccer Association, which plays its rec league games at Wilbur Street.

If the commission recommends the applications, they would then rest with the director and the mayor, who decide whether to submit them. The commission meets at 5 p.m. Monday at 907 Terminal Street, and citizens may speak for three minutes.