Dr. Kingsley Okonkwo, a Nigerian-American businessman, established the first Black-owned sports complex in Corpus Christi, Texas. Prior to launching the sports facility, he founded the Corpus Christi Football Club in 2016.
Okonkwo, who aspired to be an entrepreneur as a child, founded the football club due to a lack of similar clubs in Corpus Christi.
Okonkwo shared with Kris TV that Corpus Christi lacked similar opportunities. “So the idea and the idea and the concept came; can we build something here?”
The club was later registered in 2017 to bring a professional soccer franchise to the city, the CCFC Sharks. The club’s next move will be to establish a home field. They plan to open one near Old Brownsville Road and Cliff Maus Drive as soon as possible.
“We’re building what will be a world-class facility,” Dr. Okonkwo stated. “Our players will be able to play soccer, baseball, and softball. “We won’t have to travel every time.”
Kris TV reports that the complex will include nine fields for teams to compete and host tournaments. In addition, the building will have a 5,000-seat stadium.
“It feels wonderful to know that when you put in a lot of hard effort, you can see the fruits of the hard work,” Okonkwo said. “It’s a feeling
Okonkwo is building the facility with an investment group led by Next Sports Company, and it is projected to cost $28.3 million when all phases are done.
In addition to his involvement in athletics, he is the first black to run a pediatric clinic and an urgent care facility in Corpus Christi. He is a board-certified and licensed pediatrician who opened the location roughly two years ago.
“I’ve always wanted to be a pediatrician since I was 12 years old,” Okonkwo stated in an interview. “The first clinic I opened was in Odessa, Texas, around 5-6 years ago. It has grown to four clinics, with the Corpus Christi branch being the fifth.
Okonkwo advises other young black entrepreneurs who aspire to be like him to pursue a decent education and work hard.
“The secret to success is a solid education and hard work. There is no way around it. And I make it plain to them that they should not let other people’s perceptions of them shape their reality,” Okonkwo stated.
