RIO GRANDE – The Robert “Ockie” Wisting Complex on the site of the former Fort Apache Campground in Rio Grande is ready for its first summer as Middle Township’s newest recreation center.
“This is the result of a lot of work by a lot of people over a long time,” said Administrator Elizabeth Terenik at the Middle Township Committee’s May 7 work session, one devoted to discussing the plans for this summer.
The 82-acre site was purchased by the township in 2002 with plans to expand recreational opportunities in the south end of the municipality.
The township’s 65-acre Davies Sports Complex off Goshen Road anchors such opportunities in the north with the smaller seven-acre Martin Luther King Center sitting mid-way in Whitesboro.
Years passed without the development of the site until plans for a public/private partnership with Cape Express Soccer Club signaled new investment in the future complex.
County Open Space funds supported the effort as did a state Green Acres grant. Impediments abounded but were overcome as the vision for the complex took form.
Now the site is ready for summer 2018. The complex welcomes visitors with a disc golf course, playground, fishing pier, nature walks, handicapped-accessible bathrooms, a 100-car parking area, amphitheater to support public concerts, and athletic fields, most notably the Cape Express soccer fields.
With all of those features, the site also remains largely a preserved wetlands area and forest open to those who would contemplate nature rather than athletics.
Cape Express announced that its official opening date is Aug. 15, with league games starting in September.
On June 25, the soccer club will be welcoming a team from the Netherlands to the complex in advance of the official opening.
2018 Concerts
A key discussion at the work session focused on the first year of plans for annual summer concerts at the complex.
By resolution, Zippy Productions was awarded a $10,000 contract to produce two open-air concerts at the amphitheater, July 19 and Aug. 16.
Jeff Morgan, the individual handling the shows, suggested possible groups for the township to consider. While the township is providing the facility and the sound support, $5,000 per show limits the groups to be considered. Morgan was enthusiastic about some of the possibilities.
For the first concert, he suggested Brandon Tomasello whose website states he “channels the memory of Frank Sinatra.” Morgan saw Tomasello’s range over the American Song Book as a potential attraction for the more senior members of the community.
“We have to appeal to a wide spectrum” with concerts aimed at different age groups, he said.
For the second concert Morgan suggested two potential groups:
* To the Max, a band with a playlist that stretches from the 1950s to the current hits.
* A Lady and the Gentlemen, an eight-piece band formed by musicians who love to jam and whose website advertises that they “sweep across genres with ease.”
Promotional Video
A professional promotional video was developed and presented by Middle Township High School student Sofia Lomax and Cape Express soccer participant Sawyer Lomax.
The video covered all of the complex’s many amenities challenging the viewer with the question “Are You Ready?” The video’s not implausible claim is that the Ockie Wisting complex will redefine recreation in Middle Township.
Both Sofia and Sawyer Lomax were presented with a Certificate of Appreciation for their efforts by the governing body.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.
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