Sports Complex Sale Bulks City Coffers

James and Melissa Bailey of Bonham provided the highest of two bids received for the property formerly known as the Terrell Sports Complex southwest of Roxton. Bids were opened at the September City Council Meeting.
James Bailey, who bid $125,000 for the property along with his wife Melissa, said the couple and their family have no immediate grand plans for the 37-acre tract previously owned by the Roxton Independent School District.
“We are just going to enjoy it for now,” Bailey said. “I’ll be meeting with someone to discuss building a couple of small lakes for now.” Bailey added that at some point in the future, they may consider dividing portions of the property into lots and placing them up for sale for the construction of “four or five homes.”
The other bid for the property was in the amount of $55,000, received from a traveling youth baseball organization that intended to use it as for home games and construct and indoor practice facility.
When asked if the intended use of the property was a consideration in which bid was accepted, a member of the city council said it was not.
“As a City, Roxton had to receive ‘fair market value’ for the property,” the council member said. “Essentially, ’fair market value’ means whatever someone would be willing to pay for it. Had the baseball organization been the only bidder, or the highest bidder, the bid would have established fair market value. John Bailey’s bid may well have exceeded what most would have expected in terms of the fair market value of the property.”
With the former sports complex now in the process of entering private hands, the question of the future of the Roxton ISD campus remains.
“At this point, the council has only had informal discussions about the campus,” the council member said. “The home school group that has been using the gymnasiums have expressed interest in purchasing at least portions of the property, including the gyms and adjacent buildings.”
If discussions with the home school group become more focused, the City of Roxton won’t necessarily have to place the property up for bid.
“The home school group is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization,” the council member stated. “In the case of a non-profit, the City can negotiate the terms of a sale or an agreement.”
To date, the home school organization has invested about $50,000 in repairing and upgrading the gymnasiums.