Kenai unveils 20-year parks master plan with sports complex overhaul

The Kenai City Council heard a presentation Wednesday on the city's first comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan in over a decade. The plan proposes consolidating scattered ball fields into one expanded sports complex and converting downtown green spaces into a seasonal campground.

Chris Myrtle, a landscape architect with Corvus Design, presented the 20-year roadmap at a May 20, 2026 work session. The city awarded Corvus a contract in 2025 after holding a public workshop and online survey that closed May 21.

Sports complex expansion

The plan recommends moving all baseball, soccer, and rugby fields to the sports complex, which sits on 20 acres but could expand to 70 acres using adjacent undeveloped parkland. Myrtle said consolidation would cut maintenance costs and reduce travel time for crews.

"You have Tyler and his crew driving all over the place maintaining ball fields all over the community," Myrtle said. "He's going to have one shop there. His crew can go and do all their work at one place rather than lots of windshield time going back and forth."

Once fields relocate, the Green Strip and Steve Shearer Memorial Ballpark area would become community event space and a seasonal campground. The city currently maintains three large open green spaces but likely needs only one, Myrtle said.

Funding and priorities

The city spends roughly $1.3 million annually on parks operations and personnel, with another $120,000 for capital improvements. Kenai recovers 16.6 percent of its costs through user fees, below the national average of 31 percent but typical for Alaska communities.

Myrtle said the master plan is the city's most important tool for pursuing outside grants, which typically require an adopted plan developed through public process.

Near-term priorities include new playgrounds at Old Town Park and Municipal Park, interior upgrades at the ice rink, and relocating the parks shop. The plan also recommends developing a separate trails master plan to secure state and federal trail funding.

The Parks and Recreation Commission recommended approval May 7. The council took no action Wednesday. The plan will return for formal adoption at a future meeting.