Tammy Evans, Oak Grove High School swim team coach, swim mom Terri Miller, Dale McVeay of the Professional Disc Golf Association, representatives of the Oak Grove Football Association and the Hattiesburg Youth Soccer and Hattiesburg Futbol Club were among a large crowd who attended a meeting of the Lamar County Sports Complex Vision Board Tuesday night. District 1 and District 5 supervisors, Steve Lampton and Dale Lucus, were also on hand.
Held at the Breland Voting Precinct on Jackson Road, sports enthusiasts were invited to share their thoughts and ideas in regard to a proposed sports complex the county hopes to build in the future. This was one of two meetings to give members of the county the opportunity to ask questions or express their desires for such a facility.
It also gave those in attendance the opportunity to volunteer to be part of a sports/advisory team and work with the appointed visionary board, headed by Sid Gonsoulin.
Gonsoulin was quick to point out that this board does not make decisions, but is rather visionary, like a think tank board. Each district supervisor selected a representative from his district to be represented on the board. It is the board’s duty to come up with a master plan with the input of community members, which will ultimately be submitted to the board of supervisors.
No decisions have been made regarding the complex. The board doesn’t know how big it will be, where it’s going to be located or what sports opportunities it will provide.
They do know that they want to get it right the first time, making sure to identify a site that is large enough to construct a complex that allows for expansion if it’s to be built in different phases. They also realize there has to be more than one way in and one way out and that parking facilities must be spread throughout the complex to keep guests from walking.
And that a facility of this nature needs to have an economic engine to bring in outside money for operational costs or it falls back on the citizens of the county.
Information gathered by the county from surveys turned in by citizens show the most requested needs were playground equipment, walking/bike trails, soccer, football, closed shelter for restrooms, tennis, softball, baseball and volleyball courts.
Those items that were most lacking could be part of Phase 1 because of the need, if that’s the way the complex needed to be built, Gonsoulin said.
Evans and Miller both spoke up in support of some type of swimming facility.
She said there are 27 members on the OGHS swim team, which doesn’t include members from the other three district high schools. She also works with the Hub Fins, a program of The Family YMCA of Southeast Mississippi
“I think people don’t know what a huge revenue a swimming complex can be,” Evans said. “Our kids swim year-round, so we are traveling to Atlanta, North Carolina, Texas. We’ve been all over.”
Evans and Miller became friends through their children swimming together. Miller’s son, a state champion and record holder, is currently considering where to swim in college and hopes to make a decision in the next few weeks.
Evans said one of the benefits of swimming is that not a lot of equipment is required, basically a swimsuit and goggles.
According to information gathered by Todd Jackson with the Area Development Partnership and an ex-officio member of the visionary board, the No. 1 participatory activity in Lamar County is walking, jogging, exercising. Swimming came in second with
6,843 swimmers in Lamar County.
“That’s not participation, but people,” Gonsoulin said. “That says a lot.”
Duane Prewitt, vice-president of the Oak Grove Football Association, said his group has more than 250 kids playing football, but they have to turn away a lot more because they don’t have enough space on their current practice sight.
Currently they are using space Temple Baptist Church has provided for them to use.
“The thing about it is, these kids go to school together and now they can’t play football together because there’ snot enough room,” Prewitt said. So now their friends are having to play in Dixie, Hattiesburg or Petal. We’re just here to see if we can’t have a site, because if Temple ever says they need their land back, we won’t have any place to go.
Prewitt said it was the same with the Cheer program that accompanies football. He said he and the director had been talking to see how they might get money together so they can continue to offer the program to more kids.
Drew Siders, who serves as the executive director of the Hattiesburg Youth Soccer and Hattiesburg Futbol Club, attended to see what was being discussed.
Noting that there are five soccer clubs in Hattiesburg, Siders feels it would be great if leagues from across the Pine Belt could come together, thus allowing a higher level of competition rather than diluting groups if they remain separate.
Gonsoulin was pleased with the turnout, noting that three engineer firms, who are interested in this project, were also on hand. He also said he’d received a call from a company in Chicago inquiring about the project.
“We got feedback from every sport/activity and age group,” he said of Tuesday night’s meeting. “We also learned about some new activities that might really work, like disc golf and pickle ball. That’s what this is about. We do our thing, but when the people who really care for their kids and want to see this happen come out and talk about it, then momentum goes up. We are in this for the long haul and want this to be a big time quality facility for the citizens of Lamar County.
A meeting will be held at 7:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28 (tonight) in the Meeting Room of the Lamar County Multipurpose Center in Purvis, located on Industrial Road. Anyone is welcome to attend.
