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As
carried over the news wire and reported
by
THE
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Man builds sports complex in honor of
son
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SPRINGFIELD
(AP) — Just like his old man, Kyle Kramer
loved sports.
The 11-year old was
on every team his school offered and played
three years on the city's Mighty Mights football
league. His dad, a former star himself for
the University of Missouri Tigers (1981 -
1983), coached Kyle's team every year.
And it's no surprise
that the two were returning from a Tigers
football game in Columbia on the day Kyle's
life was taken away in an automobile accident.
In memory of the young
sports enthusiast, Kyle's dad is building
something his son would be proud of: A
25,000 square foot community sports complex
for young teams around the city.
"I'm doing something
my son would have liked," Jack Kramer
said.
The SportsPlex sounds
like something Kyle might have dreamed up
himself. The building will accommodate indoor
basketball, soccer, flag football and other
sports. Adjoining rooms will include an arcade
and a food court — complete with hot
dogs, popcorn, pretzels and nachos —
in a dining area with a big-screen television
and surroundsound stereo.
Kramer has paid for
the complex, in part, with money he won in
a lawsuit over the death of his son. The young
man was killed Sept. 7, 1997, on a highway
near Lebanon when a tractor-trailer swerved
and overturned in front of Kramer's van.
Kramer doesn't like
to talk about the accident, nor the settlement
that followed. The Springfield businessman
would rather talk about his favorite subject.
"I enjoy sports
immensely and I enjoy kids immensely,"
he said. "I love kids and my family.
This project provides me with the opportunity
to work with all of those."
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