O.B. to build $46 million on campus athletic & sports science complex

O.B. to build $46 million on campus athletic & sports science complex

Orange Beach City Council unanimously approved a resolution supporting the construction of an athletic complex on the Orange Beach Middle and High School campus and approved the bid award to Bear Construction of Pensacola for $46,162 million. Construction is set to start this month, and the completion date is estimated to be May 30, 2025.
The complex will include a 1,200 seat gymnasium, multi-sport pavilion, Kinesiology and Excercise Science Building, n eight lane track, soccer & football fields, a 3,500 seat football stadium and other support facilities.
• Competition Gymnasium: The gymnasium will seat 1,200 spectators for numerous academic, athletic, and co-curricular activities. Extracurricular activities, such as but not limited to volleyball, basketball, and wrestling, will benefit from this addition. The center-hung video boards will be operated by students, providing hands-on, minds-on learning opportunities for students interested in television productions and digital media.
• Kinesiology & Exercise Science Building: The two-story Kinesiology and Exercise Science Building will consist of classroom and meeting spaces, strength and conditioning facilities, a physical therapy room, cheerleading, wrestling, and football locker rooms, storage, wrestler and cheerleader practice areas, and coaching cubicles and offices. Within the building, there are learning opportunities for students pursuing careers in health sciences and/or physical education via an 80-seat theatre-style space that can be used as two classrooms, a sports-medicine rehabilitation center for student trainers to gain hands-on experience (i.e., hydrocollator, ice machine, six exam tables, and two rehabilitation and recoveryplunge pools, etc.), and a state-of-the-art strength and conditioning facility, which will be utilized by every student-athlete.
• Track: The eight-lane track will encircle the turfed soccer/football field and contain a high jump, long jump, pole vault, javelin, and discus areas.
• Stadium: The stadium’s grandstand will seat 3,500, and its lighting is LED. Restrooms and
concession areas are included. The state-of-the-art Jumbo-Tron and gymnasium’s center-hung video boards will be operated by students, providing hands-on, minds-on learning opportunities for students interested in television productions and digital media. Every physical education class may utilize new facilities.
• Multi-Purpose Pavilion: The multi-purpose pavilion may be used for academic, co-, or extracurricular activities. During inclement weather, the turfed surface will be utilized by various organizations. The multi-purpose pavilion’s dimensions are 150′ by 200′ with a 60′ apex.
• Usage: Every student-athlete will benefit from the new facility regardless of athletic affiliation, according to an Orange Beach School Board.
If used today, approximately 80% of all students would benefit directly from the facility. Currently, cheerleaders and wrestling teams practice off campus, strength and conditioning classes are conducted in a storage unit facility, students do not have track facilities, and seven basketball teams and five volleyball teams use one court.
There are over 400 student-athletes who need adequate practice, storage, and locker room spaces. Countless events will be held in the new facility (i.e., band festivals, philanthropic events, 7-on-7 camps, basketball and volleyball tournaments, and track and wrestling meets), helping the local economy.
“I want to thank the council for their vision and supporting this project,” Orange Beach mayor Tony Kennon said. “We are short on facilities, and we’ve got to have them. We really have no choice and, if we are doing to do it, we are going to do it in a state-of-the-art fashion and that’s what we’ve done.”
“We know any extracurricular activities, athletics included, leads to a better student and a better citizen. That has been proven over and over again. Anything that benefits our children benefits our community as a whole.”