- April 19, 2024
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Officials plan many uses for new building at complex
Doug Thomas, member of the Leisure Services Advisory Board and longtime coach of youth sports, remembers one particular lightning storm at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex.
“It was a nightmare,” he said. He described young people crowding inside a small storage building as adults stood under the eaves.
Robert Carolin, leisure services director, said that when sporting events are stopped for lightning, many of the players go to their cars with their parents to wait out the storm. This causes a problem in getting them all back and restarting the game after the danger has passed.
The new, recently constructed field house, which will be formally dedicated at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 22, will provide a place for players to wait out lightning, and serve several other purposes.
The 100-by-45 foot, multipurpose building is located at Stadium Field, where football, soccer, rugby and several other sports are played.
Thomas said it will provide a place for players to cool off (or warm up on a cold night) and gather for halftime. It can be divided with a soundproof wall, providing privacy for both teams.
“Now they go to the end zones and just sit there,” he said.
Audio-visual capabilities will allow the coaches to go over strategies with the teams.
The field house also provides much needed restroom facilities in the area.
Facility could be economic boon for city
Carolin said the facility will be available for companies to have seminars, industrial training, safety training, motivational speaking, etc. He said it could also be used for family reunions or company picnics.
“It’s going to be one of the largest conference rooms in Ormond,” Carolin said.
He points out that it has composite flooring, which is the latest technology for locker rooms. Audio can be projected without the echo often caused by concrete floors and it looks more like a conference room than a field house.
“It really dresses it up,” he said.
Thomas said there is also a room for food preparation,
“There is so much potential it’s unreal,” he said. “This is one of the best things to happen in Ormond Beach.”
Thomas said Harry Wendelstedt Umpire School has 120 to 180 students for a session, and they stay at a Daytona Beach hotel so they can have a large conference room for their classroom training. The field house can accommodate 285 people for a meeting, and offers pull-down screens, so Thomas is hoping the school will have their training there and be able to stay in Ormond Beach.
Field house to be named after benefactor
The City Commission has approved naming the facility after a major donor, Greg Smith, a local manufacturer and 32-year Ormond Beach resident.
Smith donated $120,000 toward the cost of the $400,000 building.
Smith said his son grew up playing ball at the sports complex. He said a lot of people have contributed to make the complex a “first class facility” and he wanted to add to it.
“We need to give back and it’s all about the kids,” he said.
Smith previously donated $25,000 for the weight room at the South Ormond Neighborhood Center and has also supported the Police Athletic League.
The ribbon cutting for the facility will be at 5:30 p.m. at the field house. To attend, turn right onto Harmony Avenue from Hull Road. Turn left onto Doug Thomas Way (the perimeter road), and follow it to Stadium Field.
