New Area Company Specializes In Sports Facility Construction

By LOUISE ABERCROMBIE
News Business Editor
Published in The Ponca City News on 2/21/06

TONKAWA — "Farmer's ingenuity at it's best," is what Matt Bixler, project manager for American Iron Sports, LLC, attributes his young company's coast to coast success.

One of the company's specialties is sports facility construction. Recently AIS, with corporate offices at 108 West Grand Avenue, Tonkawa, constructed a baseball field for ABC's television program Extreme Makeovers. That fete was accomplished in four days. The TV program is set to air next month.

The unique firm specializes in outdoor and indoor sports facility construction, turf installation and custom netting. Just about 18 months old, the firm has snared prestigious contracts for installing pitching machines for Iron Mike and Wilson Sporting goods.

AIS buildings custom training facilities such as soccer and football fields for organization and franchises across the nation. Bixler said the company basically started here in Ponca City, and now it has grown coast to coast. AIS has a crew that travels with a truck and a trailer installing turf fields, soccer fields, lighting, chain link fences, scoreboards and even basketball courts.

Recently AIS built two sports facilities in Houston. One was a million dollar 20,000 square foot facility and the other 13,000 square foot. Although the company has had contacts across the nation, it is just now getting into the Oklahoma market. A job is in the works for Jenks, and another for a high school in Norman.

Previous state jobs were at Laverne, Forgan and Murray State College. On the regional level AIS will begin remodeling Morgan field in Blackwell in about two months.

The material for the projects comes from a number of manufacturers that make everything in accordance to AIS specs. "This cuts out the middleman," Matt said.

The turf manufacturer is in Dallas and the golf and baseball netting comes from South Padre, Texas.

The firm receives a lot of referral work because "We've actually proven ourselves as one of the best installing crews in the industry, and the quality of work we do," Matt said.

No stranger to sports arenas, Matt played college baseball in Colorado after graduating from Alva High School. Later he would play for the University of Nevada in Las Vegas.

Although he never attained a college degree, Matt learned that on the job training would be invaluable. For several years he worked in Florida for Philip Morris as a Kraft Food representative to Albertson stores on the gulfside.

"That is where I learned I wanted to work for myself. So I got a second job, saved money and borrowed $25,000 to get the business started," Matt said.

He moved back to Oklahoma basically because his family needed him to help out at the ranch near Freedom. That is where he got started when he met Greg Neisen, Precision Tool and Die with the pitching machine. Next Matt discovered there was a market knitch for pitching machine installers and he developed the www.americaironsports.com website with poncacity.net. The rest has been history with installation of other types of sports connected equipment.

Matt attributes part of the success of the company to a good work ethic. "Everybody that works with me, one is my uncle, one is my best friend and the new member of the team, all have good work ethics."

A natural salesman, Matt spends a lot of time on the road promoting the company.