Priceville Event Center to open this month with multisport gym, walking track
Article written by Erica Smith of Decatur Daily
PRICEVILLE — The $7.2 million Priceville Event Center will open this month with a multisport gymnasium and second-floor walking track eight years after city officials first discussed building a recreation center and six years after they borrowed money for it.
Officials gave a tour of the center Tuesday, and its other features include a multipurpose room that can seat around 90 people at tables, an exercise gym and a catering kitchen. The city plans a ceremony at the building at 6 p.m. Wednesday and will open the 26,000-square-foot facility for public viewing. However, the facility won't become operational until final details and inspections are completed, Priceville Mayor Sam Heflin said.
“It’ll actually be finished sometime in the next two weeks, but it’s usable now,” Heflin said.
Construction of the center began in April 2021 after an original plan for a 66,000-square-foot recreation center was downsized twice to fit within a budget provided by a $9 million bond issue in 2017.
Heflin said the center will help bring their community together.
“Everything we’ve (council members) done since we’ve been in office since the beginning of 2020 is to try and bring the community together,” he said. “There’s enough division in the world; we don’t need all that. Here in Priceville we love each other, we take care of each other.”
The exterior of the building has 10 benches, speakers, USB ports in light posts and a yoga mat that is around 18 by 36 feet. In the lobby and near the entrance is a seating area, reception desk, a conference room and an employee breakroom. Heflin said there are two full-time employees, and they are in the process of hiring two part-time employees.
The gymnasium court can be rented for events, Heflin said.
“For an event, we could have as many as 700 in the gym in a graduation type setting; we plan on hosting events of about 400,” he said. “We have a floor covering system that’s a rollout. You’ll cover the entire floor, and then we’ll set up chairs in there.”
Heflin said the gymnasium court can be used for a variety of events.
“We can hold basketball tournaments, volleyball tournaments,” he said. “We can also hold trade shows … . We can hold wedding receptions, we can hold banquets, graduations.”
Chandler Phillips, event center director, said there are local basketball leagues that will be able to practice and play on the gymnasium court. They are the Priceville City Recreation Association and the Tennessee Valley Basketball Association. Phillips said they are currently utilizing the local school gymnasiums but will move to the center when it opens.
“It’s standing room which is something that is going in a lot of gyms,” Phillips said. "There’s three lanes of track up there that they’ll be able to walk and that’s free to everyone.”
Phillips said a lot of the equipment in the exercise gym is smart technology equipment that can be used with smart phones or watches. The exercise gym includes standing and sitting ellipticals, stair climbers, inclining treadmills, exercise bikes, a tire flip machine and weights, among other equipment.