Editor’s note: This piece was submitted to the Permian Press by the City of Midland.

Midland’s future will be better because of partnerships taking place right now.

This past week, the community received an update on the transformation of Beal Park into a signature regional park inside the City of Midland.

The Beal Park project includes the ExxonMobil Soccer Complex, which will be one of the finest soccer parks west of Interstate 35 with 63 new fields. The soccer complex will add to the roster of extensive athletic facilities inside Midland (joining the FMH Natatorium at COM Aquatics, the Bush Tennis Center, the soon-to-be-completed Diamondback Energy Athletic Complex, and the Scharbauer Sports Complex), positioning the city to become a regional destination for tournaments and other athletic competitions.

It will also be the premier City of Midland park with a signature amphitheater and custom splash park. The expectations are that families will gravitate to southwest Midland for an extensive list of options that go beyond baseball, softball, cricket, skateboarding, fishing, a dog park, disc golf, and basketball.

And partnerships are the reason for such an impactful investment. Midland’s philanthropic community complemented the City of Midland’s investment. Organizations like ExxonMobil, the Beal Foundation, the Scharbauer Foundation, and Abell-Hanger Foundation put their resources behind the Beal Park transformation, giving Midlanders a one-of-a-kind community park experience.

Our community will be better because of such partnerships. That was the case when the City of Midland and Midland County hosted a ribbon-cutting to show off the extension of Occidental Parkway in northeast Midland. It is the latest partnership with the county that will provide city residents with improved infrastructure – but not the last. The City and County have agreed to partner on improvements to Briarwood Avenue in northwest Midland, and the cities of Midland and Odessa and counties of Midland and Ector recently announced the Basin Beautification Project, which promises to create cleaner, safer, and more beautiful communities across the Permian Basin.

The City of Midland is challenged by a sales tax allotment, which is unlike most cities across the region and around the state. Partnerships, however, will help the City of Midland thrive as our community continues to grow and answer our residents’ calls for better roads, parks, and other quality-of-place opportunities.