Paducah City Commission introduces sports complex ordinance; announces BUILD grant approval

The Paducah City Commission introduced the ordinance that would get the ball rolling on the Paducah-McCracken County Athletic Complex, and announced the approval of the BUILD Grant for the work at the riverfront.

The mayor and commission expressed relief and excitement about the sports complex agreement. On Tuesday the commission, like the county fiscal court the previous night, had the first reading of the ordinance. That means the agreement can be adopted at the next meeting.

Mayor George Bray said that he and Judge Executive Craig Clymer had a discussion about the proposed joint meeting to adopt the interlocal agreement. The mayor passed along the suggestion of Commissioner Sandra Wilson that the meeting be held in Stuart Nelson Park. No date has been set yet for the meeting.

Commissioner Reynarldo Henderson suggested naming the sports complex for the park's namesake, Dr. William Stuart Nelson. According to the mayor and City Manager Daron Jordan, the master plan does call for Nelson to be honored in some way in the new joint facility, and there is a provision for community input on how that could best be accomplished.


Also on the agenda was an update on the riverfront BUILD Grant. The BUILD Grant is an award of $10.4 million to improve the riverfront, creating a dock for riverboats and a pedestrian corridor from downtown to the convention center.

The grant was awarded in 2019, but the city had to meet certain requirements to get the funding. Those criteria have been met, and that opens the door to begin moving forward with the project.