Ardmore sets sights on landing campus

ARDMORE — City officials want to see 30 acres in a city park turned into a bustling college campus.

The public works authority on Monday approved a plan to use 30 acres of Ardmore Regional Park as the site of a branch campus for a university.

The park runs along the east side of Interstate 35 on the city's north side.

"We designated it as a site,” Ardmore City Manager Dan Parrott said. "We're very interested in getting a university presence in the community.”

The next step is deciding which university should open a campus in Ardmore. East Central University in Ada and Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant have expressed interest, said Steve Mills, director and chief executive officer of the Ardmore Higher Education Center.

"We have a location; now we need to move forward in selection of a college,” Mills said. "What we plan to do next is go in and start site planning and see how the campus could be situated on the land.”

Mills said a market analysis is being conducted to see what sort of demand there is for university services in Ardmore, a community of about 23,700.

A university in Ardmore would require legislative OK, Mills said. Officials also must raise money for construction.

The city has agreed to pay about $4 million toward construction, Parrott said. Additional money for construction also would have to be raised locally, Mills said.