Riviera ISD holds grand opening for new sports complex
The Vidal M. Villareal Sports Complex had its official grand opening on Friday afternoon, as invited guests and spectators filled the stands of the Dr. Pat Hubert baseball field.
Riviera ISD Superintendent Karen Unterbrink took the podium as she welcomed all guests in attendance to the ceremony and celebration.
Unterbrink then began to speak about honoring the namesake for the complex, Vidal M. Villarreal, who had passed away in 2019.
Villareal, Unterbrink said, was “the Seahawk’s number one fan” across all sports and was a pillar in the community as a longtime Riviera Telephone Company employee.
Riviera I.S.D. Superintendent Karen Unterbrink speaks at the podium for the Vidal M. Villarreal Sports Complex Grand Opening. (Photos by Frank Cardenas)
“His love and support for our Riviera Seahawks will never be forgotten,” Unterbrink said. “We stand tall and proud in the commemoration of his legacy.”
She then thanked all of his family members for being in attendance.
Unterbrink also recognized the families of the namesakes for both the Hubert Baseball field, and the H.P. Mendez Softball field, who were also in attendance.
Riviera ISD School Board President Burt Bull then took the podium to present a plaque to the RTC, for their role in the construction of the facility.
The $2.7 million project designs were approved in the fall of 2018, and the Riviera ISD Board of Trustees accepted a bid for the construction to be done by DLF Construction Inc. in July 2019.
The project is fully funded by donations from the Riviera Telephone Company and the South Texas Charity Quail Hunts.
The facility has brand new restrooms, a new state-of-the-art concession stand that will be used for multiple sporting events, new sunken dugouts for both baseball and softball fields and new seating.
The seating in the baseball field also includes an Aggie Maroon seat for Dr. Hubert, which is next to a gray seat for Villarreal, placed in their memory.
RTC Vice-President Bill Colston III accepted the the plaque on behalf of the company, and spoke about knowing Villarreal in his younger days.
Riviera I.S.D. President Burt Bull (left) presents a plaque to Riviera Telephone Company Vice-President Bill Colston III. (Photos by Frank Cardenas)
He also shared an anecdote about telling Villarreal that his namesake would be on the sports complex when construction was about to begin.
“After a long pause, he looked up at me and said ‘You’re going to name the bathrooms after me?’” Colston said. “But I’ll tell you something, if I had a page or or a book to stand up here, there's not enough time for me to describe to you guys what this great man meant to me and meant to our family. And what he meant to sports in this town. Every Seahawk was one of his kids, every sport was one of his favorites. He didn't miss a whole heck of a lot of them. I'm honored and humbled to stand up here in front of you guys today at this dedication of this facility. And I'm so happy to see it all come together. And we're blessed to be able to be standing here right now.”
