Johnson City soliciting name ideas for Winged Deer Park addition

Johnson City officials are asking local residents for their help in naming the expansion of the athletic complex at Winged Deer Park.Suggested names for the addition should be made in writing and include an explanation of the proposed name's significance to both the Winged Deer property and the overall park system. Proposals should be mailed to the Johnson City Parks and Recreation Department, 4137 Bristol Highway, Johnson City, TN 37601.Submissions can also be emailed to mhollifield@johnsoncitytn.org. The suggested names must be received by May 30.Johnson City hired a Kingsport construction company to build additional athletic fields at Winged Deer Park to provide more opportunities for large events and to reduce the need for late-night games.City commissioners voted last year to approve a bid from Goins, Rash, & Cain Inc. totaling $17,634,000. Two other companies, Path Construction Northeast and Quesenberry's Construction, submitted bids of $18,057,350 and $18,619,500 respectively.The expansion covers 37 acres the city has purchased beside the park. The city will add a complex of four synthetic softball fields, which will also be usable for soccer.The completed project will create a total of nine diamond fields and nine rectangular fields at Winged Deer Park.According to the design, the expansion will also include restrooms, concessions, 346 paved parking spaces, a maintenance and umpire facility for larger tournaments, shaded picnic tables and a playground.City officials hope the extra fields will meet the facility's needs for the next 30 years.The 200-acre Winged Deer Park, which combines history, a scenic lakefront location and walking paths, has become one the most popular and most identifiable parks in Johnson City. The original Arney farmhouse is now the city's Parks and Recreation administration office.The complex includes five lighted softball fields, batting cages and an 18-hole disc golf course. The lakefront area provides boating access, a handicap accessible boardwalk and an amphitheater and festival space.Winged Deer also has a half-mile flat track that encircles the ball field. The wooded, paved and lighted trails measure 1.5 miles.The park's historical area features the Robert Young Cabin, which is one of Johnson City's oldest dwellings. It was built in 1776 on property near Brush Creek and restored in 1938 by the Veterans Administration and John Sevier Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution.The park is also home to the Massengil Monument, a 24-foot statue that was originally erected by Dr. Samuel Evans Massengil of Bristol to honor his great-great-grandfather as well as all of the westward pioneers who settled the region.