SPANISH FORT – Supporters of Spanish Fort High School athletic programs said they are working to raise more than $3 million to expand school physical education facilities.
On Monday, June 21, Benjamin Blackmon, Spanish Fort High athletic director, told City Council members that the current facilities are not adequate for the growing school. Spanish Fort High needs a football practice areas as well a larger weight room and more locker space
“What we wanted to do is to put together an improvement plan to make that a big deal on what we call Champions’ Hill,” Blackmon said.
Spanish Fort High has won multiple state championships in several sports, Blackmon said. He said, however, that improvements are needed to help the Toros continue their success and to meet the needs of a growing population.
“I think it’s really important as we move forward, as we face the growth that’s coming to Baldwin County, that we really, really start looking with a vision of how do we sustain this? How do we continue to give our kids the resources that are needed? I think they’re getting excellent academics. I think they’re getting excellent coaching. I think we’re limited some in our facilities space-wise and growth-wise and I think we’re limited landmass-wise. Being very, very smart about what we’re wanting to do with the limited amount of landmass that we have, it’s very, very important to look at that,” Blackmon said.
Unlike many other area high schools, such as Fairhope, Foley and Baldwin County High in Bay Minette, Spanish Fort does not have an indoor area where football teams can practice if rain prevents them from working outside, he said. Saraland High, a 6A rival, has a $3.2-million facility.
“The last two years in the first round of playoffs, it had been torrential downpours all week from a football standpoint,” he said. “But it’s also basketball season and it’s also volleyball season, so the gym space is not available oftentimes. So, from a football standpoint, we’re looking for a space to get in and still practice, to prepare our players for the games on Friday night and we don’t have that facility on campus.”
The total cost of the improvements needed by Spanish Fort would be between $3 million and $3.5 million, Blackmon said.
He said team members and their supporters in the community are working to raise some of the funds. He asked city officials to consider providing money as well.
“I encourage you to really, really pray about this and think about the impact that you will have on our kids and our community by investing in them and this project,” he told council members. “We’re not opposed to having skin in the game at all. We feel like from a community standpoint, we could raise anywhere from the $300,000 to $500,000 mark.”
Mayor Mike McMillan said the council would discuss the requests during upcoming budget meetings. He said the city recently approved funding for a $1-million girls’ field house and has built many of the athletic facilities at SFHS as well.
“I think everybody in this room knows that those facilities were built by the city of Spanish Fort, every piece of them, every dollar of it, other than track, shed and other things that were built by some of the parents,” McMillan said.
Councilman Curt Smith said the entire request would require a major portion of the city budget. He asked Blackmon to set priorities on which projects are most needed.
“To take on the whole thing is pretty ambitious. Our budget’s roughly $10 million a year. So, to do a $3.5 million, that’s going to take away from these two guys or some other projects,” Smith said pointing to Police Chief John Barber and Fire Chief Roger Few in the audience.
Some of the projects requested include a new weight room, more lockers for athletes, resurfacing the track, increased storage and classroom space and meeting areas.
