A longstanding sports complex in the heart of Lutz is getting an update.
Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation broke ground on Sept. 12 to add a synthetic turf field to the Oscar Cooler Sports Complex, at 766 Lutz Lake Fern Road. The synthetic soccer and multipurpose field is part of a county-wide project.
It will take 45 days to 60 days to complete the project.
Of 23 fields to be completed across Hillsborough by 2023, two are baseball fields and 21 are multipurpose fields.
The average cost for each synthetic field is $750,000.
Hillsborough County Parks, Planning and Athletics Manager Greg Brown explained why the county is adding the synthetic fields.
“A synthetic turf field allows for almost unlimited programming of multiple sports with minimal maintenance and the ability to play very soon after storms,” Brown said.
“Due to this high demand for youth sports and sporting in general in Hillsborough County, a typical real grass field with heavy programming will need to be shut down for several months each year and grown back to keep a safe playing surface,” Brown added.
The minimal maintenance of synthetic fields will be extremely beneficial — especially in a county where an estimated 40,000 youth participate in leagues at sports complexes every evening, Brown said.
The new field at Oscar Cooler will be predominantly used for soccer, but will be lined to allow use for multiple sports, including lacrosse and mini soccer.
When the Oscar Cooler Sports complex was built in 1975, it was called the Lutz Park Youth Complex and had just three baseball fields.
It was built in an area that had been primarily occupied by orange groves.
It was renamed to honor Oscar Cooler, a longtime Lutz resident, Cooler, who was the primary force behind getting the original park built.
He spent about two years working to persuade the county to buy the land and build the park.
Cooler coached in the Lutz Little League for five years and umpired for about 35 years. He was the league’s president for 15 years.
In 2010, Cooler told The Laker/Lutz News, “I think kids need to have a safe place to learn about teamwork … If kids don’t have something like this, then they usually get into a lot of things they shouldn’t be doing.”
That same year, a 33-acre, $3.9-million expansion opened up the park to its current size. That expansion allowed the soccer program, FC Tampa Lutz Rangers, to join the Lutz Chiefs, the football program at the park, and, of course, Lutz Little League.
Cooler was 84 when he passed away in 2013.
Published September 21, 2022
