Dr. Kingsley Okonkwo, a Nigerian American business owner in Corpus Christi, Texas, spearheads a new sports complex in the area, which will be the first Black-owned one. Said to encourage almost 50,000 additional out-of-town visits to the coastal South Texas city a year and millions in tourist spending, Okonkwo’s complex will be home to the Corpus Christi Football Club, which the businessman and pediatrician started in 2016.

“I realized we didn’t have anything like that in Corpus Christi,” Okonkwo told KRIS 6 News of founding the Corpus Christi Football Club, the first of its kind in the area. “So the idea and the idea and the concept came, can we build something here?”

In 2017, Corpus Christi Football Club received the green light to bring a professional soccer franchise to the city that will play and practice at the new facility. 

“What we’re building what will be a world-class facility,” Okonkwo told KRIS. “Our athletes will be able to play soccer, baseball, softball fields. We will not need to travel every time.”

The complex will include nine fields with tournament space, plus a 5,000-seat stadium. The project has been challenging, but Okonkwo believes his success proves that hard work can lead to extraordinary accomplishments.

“It feels good to know that when you put in a lot of hard work, you can see the benefits of the hard work,” he told KRIS. 

In addition to the football club and complex, alongside his work as a pediatrician, Okonkwo owns an urgent care facility, PediCare, Corpus Christi’s first and sole Black-owned pediatric clinic and urgent care facility.

“I’ve always wanted to be a pediatrician since I was 12 years old,” Okonkwo shared with KRIS. “The first clinic I opened was actually in Odessa, TX about 5-6 years ago. It’s grown to 4 different clinics and the Corpus Christi branch is actually the fifth branch.”

But Okonkwo wants to do so much more in the Corpus Christi area. This Black History Month, the businessman is celebrating by highlighting Black achievements. 

“I see it as a way to look at the past, to reflect on the present and look towards the future,” Okonkwo said.

KRIS reported that the complex’s first phase is slated for opening at the end of the year.