OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – A southside Oklahoma City youth sports staple remains caught up in a legal drama.
The battle for Davis Ballpark continues. When last we checked in, summer baseball was in full swing.
But the park’s future could be decided in the Cleveland County Courthouse.
Albert Neece is president of the Central Oklahoma Optimist Club, various chapters of which have owned and operated Davis Ballpark since its inception.
“Lot of kids have grown up here playing ball,” said Albert. “It’s been a ballpark since 1969. It was built, donated to the community, and it’s always been ran by a board.”
But the park was sold in 2016, unbeknownst to Albert and other Optimist members, by then president Adam Davis.
The 20-acre plot of land, worth more than $160,000 today, sold for $3,000 to Turtlestone LLC. Wallace Stark, Turtlestone LLC President, is Adam Davis’ brother-in-law, according to court records.
A stipulation on the deed that states the field must be used for youth sports, was quietly removed in court.
Albert and other Optimist members say they were none the wiser.
“Basically, no one showed up for the Southside Optimist Club. So, the judge gave them a default judgement,” said Brett Burch, the attorney representing current Optimist members. “He sold a piece of property that wasn’t his to sell.”
Stark and Davis opted to not comment to KFOR, requesting we instead speak with their attorneys.
This fight will only continue. Since our last story, a Cleveland County judge has denied a motion to dismiss the case.
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Home Creations LLC was originally named in the lawsuit, but have since contacted News 4 to inform us they were never involved in any purchase of the field. Zia Muneer, General Counsel with Home Creations, responded with the following statement:
“Home Creations is not involved in the purchase of Davis Ballpark. The inclusion of Home Creations in the lawsuit was based on an erroneous assumption by the Plaintiff. Home Creations is working closely with its legal team in order to have its name removed from the present litigation.”
ZIA MUNEER, HOME CREATIONS GENERAL COUNSEL
