FORT KNOX, Ky. — Leaders from Fort Knox and 19th Engineer Battalion pierced the cold hard ground between Caruso Youth Sports and Fitness Complex and Wilson Road Jan. 23, officially launching the start of an expansion project that is expected to provide more options for youth sports.
The project, which had stalled over a decade ago due to a series of changing funding priorities and the pandemic, is now underway thanks in part to leaders at 19th providing the muscle, according to Fort Knox Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation officials.
“It was going to cost about $750,000,” said Rayceil Oggs, director of Fort Knox Child & Youth Services. “It’s going to be a huge savings now."
Oggs explained that they started seeking money for the expansion project in 2010, but those funds are no longer available. Ryan Lewis, director of Youth Sports & Fitness, said interest in expanding the Caruso field returned in 2017, but several setbacks kept delaying the project.
“They had deployments, then we had COVID, and then it was just not a priority,” said Lewis. “We always just needed the [soil moving and leveling] work to be done. Once the work is done, all that other stuff, like the fence, that’ll fall into place.”
During the ceremony, Lewis explained to those in attendance that Caruso is in need of expansion for a few reasons.
“We can’t fit all our kids on this complex,” said Lewis. “I know it’s huge, it’s great, but this is only for older kids. The main demographic we serve is younger children 9 years and below, and these fields are too big for them.”
Youth sports is divided into two groups, with the older youth playing at Caruso, and the younger children playing at other locations around the installation. Lewis said the expansion project, when complete, will not only provide more room for the younger children to play sports at Caruso, it will also allow all the youth to be at one central location.
The ground moving work has fallen into the hands of 15th Engineer Construction Company, under the command of Capt. Kevin Erkkila. He emceed the ceremony and participated in moving some of the initial soil with a shovel at the end of it.
Barring weather setbacks, 19th is expected to be complete with their part in about two weeks, according to Oggs. Then once funding comes in for the fence, she said they are tentatively planning to open Caruso’s expanded sometime in spring 2024.
The commander of 19th, Lt. Col. Todd Bradford, said he is pleased with the relationship his unit has forged and is maintaining with the Garrison leadership and FMWR.
“I think it’s important to structure this as a beginning, but not just a beginning for this construction project,” said Bradford, “but also a beginning for more construction projects going forward.”
After the groundbreaking ceremony, Fort Knox Garrison Commander Col. Lance O’Bryan praised 19th for their work in constructing Castle Lake, which is expected to open for recreational activities this spring, and for again stepping up to provide much-needed assistance to the installation for this project.
“I’m very proud of what you do,” said O’Bryan. “At the end of the day, there’s not another unit that puts more back into this installation than you, and I just want to say thank you for that.”
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