South Walton Sports Complex Update

One thing to remember with youth sports events is that it's not always kids + parents on the trip. It's frequently kids + chaperone that may or may not adequately supervise the young athletes. My parents' condo complex has had to kick out a team from one of the post-Christmas high school basketball tournaments for several years running because of inadequate supervision from the alleged responsible adults involved and the kids doing moderately dumb stuff unchecked.

We have that now with parents who won't, can't, don't control their kids.

PCB's Frank Brown Park pulls in youths from as far away as TX for tournaments (that is another story in itself). If Walton County is trying to do the same, I'd like someone to tell me how Walton County is going to steal those tournaments and people from PCB. Is there enough tournament biz to have two facilities that close in proximity, competing for the same biz?

It is mostly baseball and softball tournaments at Frank Brown, so there are other tournaments that can and do generate local revenue. "Soccer by the Surf", US98 Soccer's and South Walton Montessori's non-profit fundraising partnership, managed to attract a team from Mississippi in its inaugural debut this past June. But I agree, we may not want to directly compete with Frank Brown's focus on baseball and softball. There are other options.

One thing that would be a perfect fit for the area is crew. My sister, the former rower, comes down here and drools over the idea of taking a shell out on the intracoastal or the Bay on calm days. In college, her team would do a winter training camp in Tampa every year, and their protected waters don't have anything the protected waters here don't have.

A couple of service academies already base out of Eglin for training trips. It would be awesome if they could draw more teams down here for a series of regattas.

Crew is a great idea. Anyone else?

IMO, the proposed complex is much needed, although I am concerned we are going to tax the visitors right out of Sowal. As it stands now, guests are charged 11.5% total tax when they check in.

IMO, the proposed complex is much needed, although I am concerned we are going to tax the visitors right out of Sowal. As it stands now, guests are charged 11.5% total tax when they check in.

already happening. Know several families from Miss. have been coming to soccer tournaments with kids for years. they are all engineers with big oil companies. they all stay in FWB for the better family rates.

There are other resources besides the county to look to.

we already have a world class water ski facility provided by the private sector. We have the yolo boys another private sector company providing a fun product for even the fattest out of shape tourists. We have eco fishing and kayaking companies providing excellent natural experiences. How bout some canopy zip lines through the state forest to go along wih the horse back riding camping hiking that is already here. save the 102 acres of natural woods. enough ball fields in neighboring counties and like i said before if your vision includes that stuff there is another private sector development called Hammock Bay that offers everything mentioned in the rfp.

Hammock Bay is too far away to be considered a destination sports vacation draw, and it really does not serve the residents of South Walton except for some of the hardcore adult soccer players who go up there, many of which are single, young guys who don't have the need to worry about a nearly all day soccer commitment.

The benefits to having a South Walton Family Sportsplex are many and not just to those visiting for tournaments. In fact, I'd say the benefits would be more for the permanent residents than the vacationers, but it would appeal to and draw both. That in turn creates revenue producing opportunities for a large portion of local businesses and residents.

Personally, I'd rather have a quality sports and cultural arts facility in South Walton than any more strip malls. One of the ways to preserve the standard of living and beauty of this area would be to capitalize on the increasing demand for sports and arts related activities and organizations, so we could avoid making US98 look like Destin or PCB along that corridor. I agree we should preserve as much of the natural beauty of the area as possible, but having a strategically located Family Sportsplex that serves resident and vacationer alike, and a master plan for developing sports facilities in South Walton in general, could go a long way towards helping us avoid the mistakes that other communities have made in growing their communities and developing their landscapes.

In my opinion, promoting healthy lifestyles goes hand in hand with preserving natural landscapes. If South Walton decides to embrace the idea of becoming one of THE preeminent sports vacation destinations in the Southeast (arguably the country, or even the world), it will be to its benefit. But let's do it the South Walton way, and provide something that is so uniquely attractive, and not just some cookie cutter plan, that we preserve not only the natural beauty, but our community's exceptional approach to thinking, working, and living.

Hammock Bay is too far away to be considered a destination sports vacation draw, and it really does not serve the residents of South Walton except for some of the hardcore adult soccer players who go up there, many of which are single, young guys who don't have the need to worry about a nearly all day soccer commitment.

The benefits to having a South Walton family Sportsplex are many and not just to those visiting for tournaments. In fact, I'd say the benefits would be more for the permanent residents than the vacationers, but it would appeal to and draw both. That in turn creates revenue producing opportunities for a large portion of local businesses and residents.

Personally, I'd rather have a quality sports and cultural arts facility in South Walton than any more strip malls. One of the ways to preserve the standard of living and beauty of this area would be to capitalize on the increasing demand for sports and arts related activities and organizations, so we could avoid making US98 look like Destin or PCB along that corridor. I agree we should preserve as much of the natural beauty of the area as possible, but having a strategically located Family Sportsplex that serves resident and vacationer alike, and a master plan for developing sports facilities in South Walton in general could go a long way towards helping us avoid the mistakes that other communities have made in growing their communities and developing their landscapes.

In my opinion, promoting healthy lifestyles goes hand in hand with preserving natural landscapes. If South Walton decides to embrace the idea of becoming one of THE preeminent sports vacation destinations in the Southeast (arguably the country, or even the world), it will be to its benefit. But let's do it the South Walton way, and provide something that is so uniquely attractive, and not just some cookie cutter plan, that we preserve not only the natural beauty, but our community's exceptional approach to thinking, working, and living.

then let's do it from within the private sector! The area around the high school might work which makes me wonder why the middle school is 5 miles away. Let's put a moratorium on strip malls. I agree a sports complex is not the worst idea walco has. but making it purty still just makes us Bayco-okalooco Junior. We have the Seaside Rep already the ogden musuem, private galleries galore, the auditorium at the high school with ball fields and gyms. The middle school has footbal softball baseball and tennis and a pond. Coordinate your tourneys at those places in conjunction with local school kids.

Just to get you up to speed, Emerald Coast Middle School will be moving to an area just east of Bay Elementary soon, and I believe Butler Elementary will take over that whole facility. We have a Northwest Florida State campus that looks like it is well under way in the area you reference, and apparently the Boys & Girls Club will be developing the land just behind the Library.

Does there need to be more and better communication between the County, Parks & Rec, the local Schools (which are not part of or associated with Parks & Rec), Northwest Florida State, the Boys & Girls Club, and now SWAF (South Walton Athletic Foundation), which is now in charge of scheduling and managing the Helen McCall facility? No doubt about it.

But it does not change the fact that we would benefit, undeniably in many ways, from having additional facilities for those sports and arts that are either currently not served or underserved. You not only make these facilities "purty", you use smart development to strategically locate, design, and construct them. Bayco Junior? No thank you.

IMO, the proposed complex is much needed, although I am concerned we are going to tax the visitors right out of Sowal. As it stands now, guests are charged 11.5% total tax when they check in.

already happening. Know several families from Miss. have been coming to soccer tournaments with kids for years. they are all engineers with big oil companies. they all stay in FWB for the better family rates.

Answer the following question:

Which county has a bed tax of 11.5%?

1.) Bay County
2.) Walton County
3.) Okaloosa County

Careful it's a trick question.

Extra credit if you can name which one raised it to that level last.

then let's do it from within the private sector! The area around the high school might work which makes me wonder why the middle school is 5 miles away. Let's put a moratorium on strip malls. I agree a sports complex is not the worst idea walco has. but making it purty still just makes us Bayco-okalooco Junior. We have the Seaside Rep already the ogden musuem, private galleries galore, the auditorium at the high school with ball fields and gyms. The middle school has footbal softball baseball and tennis and a pond. Coordinate your tourneys at those places in conjunction with local school kids.

Using WCSB facilities will and should cost for use. Also there are possible liability issues and there are not enough fields in one place to have that sports destination. Build the facility, and pattern it after a successful complex and bring a professional to operate/ manage it.

Using WCSB facilities will and should cost for use. Also there are possible liability issues and there are not enough fields in one place to have that sports destination. Build the facility, and pattern it after a successful complex and bring a professional to operate/ manage it.

In another place, in another time, when I was young, the facilities used by the school district (football field, baseball diamond, auditorium) did not belong to the school district, they belonged to the county, which had a usage agreement with the school district. The schools had practice fields for football, baseball, soccer, but they played their games in county facilities, which were also used by rec leagues, private schools, etc. We had an indoor pool, which the school used for classes but was open to the public the rest of the time. We had a downtown auditorium, which was much more professional than the auditoriums at the schools and could hold more people.

Do you realize what the overall utilization of our school facilities are, especially now, in the height of the tourist season? We have some very expensive facilities which are used by a school which has less than 500 students. We let the school board build them because they get federal help, and now we are going to do the same thing at the new middle school (aka, the kick@ss school with great facilities and no teachers).

As for the overall concept, I'd love to see South Walton market our ecotourism in a concerted effort. We could be the Costa Rica of the US; here, your kids can take surfing lessons one day, YOLO lessons the next, learn to kayak the river the next, learn to surf fish, go deep sea fishing, all in one week.

We do have a world class, private ski facility - we have friends that come there with teams, and they stay in Ft. Walton because "it's so much cheaper". I put that in quotes because I am not positive it's true, but that's their perception - when they are coming with a team of 5 kids, they get two motel rooms in Ft. Walton.

In another place, in another time, when I was young, the facilities used by the school district (football field, baseball diamond, auditorium) did not belong to the school district, they belonged to the county, which had a usage agreement with the school district. The schools had practice fields for football, baseball, soccer, but they played their games in county facilities, which were also used by rec leagues, private schools, etc. We had an indoor pool, which the school used for classes but was open to the public the rest of the time. We had a downtown auditorium, which was much more professional than the auditoriums at the schools and could hold more people.

Do you realize what the overall utilization of our school facilities are, especially now, in the height of the tourist season? We have some very expensive facilities which are used by a school which has less than 500 students. We let the school board build them because they get federal help, and now we are going to do the same thing at the new middle school (aka, the kick@ss school with great facilities and no teachers).

As for the overall concept, I'd love to see South Walton market our ecotourism in a concerted effort. We could be the Costa Rica of the US; here, your kids can take surfing lessons one day, YOLO lessons the next, learn to kayak the river the next, learn to surf fish, go deep sea fishing, all in one week.

We do have a world class, private ski facility - we have friends that come there with teams, and they stay in Ft. Walton because "it's so much cheaper". I put that in quotes because I am not positive it's true, but that's their perception - when they are coming with a team of 5 kids, they get two motel rooms in Ft. Walton.

Unless this has changed, I don't think school property can be used for the type of things that are being talked about here. I heard 98 Soccer was charged or going to be charged for the use of Helen McCall for a fundraiser. I thought and still do think that sucks. But are we not talking about this new facility to be sustaining financially. Back in my youth, school property was not used outside school function except for the auditorium which could be rented.

Unless this has changed, I don't think school property can be used for the type of things that are being talked about here. I heard 98 Soccer was charged or going to be charged for the use of Helen McCall for a fundraiser. I thought and still do think that sucks. But are we not talking about this new facility to be sustaining financially. Back in my youth, school property was not used outside school function except for the auditorium which could be rented.

Right, what I meant was, that in my part of the world, it was the reverse - these were public facilities which the school district used, not school facilities which the public used. If we are charging the public for certain uses now of "public" facilities, the charges are probably for cleanup or some such additional cost which the county would have (or, we're just charging whenever we can because we need the money).

When you say, "we are not talking about this new facility to be sustaining financially", I get a pit at the bottom of my stomach. We would be talking about operating a facility out of the TDC taxes, which we ASSUME would be a certain $$ amount over a number of years. Assuming that tax revenues would be a certain $$ amount is what got us where we are today.

No, I am talking about user fees or the TDC would need to run with their revenue, they seem to be operating at least with the contract with the Fire District the Lifeguards, even with the addition of more beach. I would still want to find out how other successful sporting complexes operate.

Answer the following question:

Which county has a bed tax of 11.5%?

1.) Bay County
2.) Walton County
3.) Okaloosa County

Careful it's a trick question.

Extra credit if you can name which one raised it to that level last.

the families i referenced base their stay on total charges not just highest or lowest bed tax rate so i did not mean to imply that. 2 nites on 30a for a weekend soccer tourney just isn't budget friendly. Trick question for you. Who will be the first to raise it to 12%?

Everything has a cost. More people will eventually mean more Taco Hells, McDougald's, Burger Queens and Dairy Kings. Go ahead and plan on Dick's (sporting goods), and Best Buy, and Not-so Super Walmart will surely see all of the profit in selling everyone towels, shovels, etc. I personally, don't enjoy three rows of beach umbrellas when I sit on the beach.

I love the economic impact it would have on our area, but I don't like the cost, and I am not talking $$$. I think we could use a public swimming pool or two in our community, as well as a few basketball and tennis courts, (without lights), and maybe abbreviated rec fields here or there. However, I would love for us to use the parks we already have. We have miles and miles of off road trails which could be more heavily utilized for running and biking. We have numerous water sources for many water sport activities. Why not feature what we have instead of trying to be like everyone else. I'd rather see physical fitness stations along 30A and in the trails of the Parks. I'd like to see kayak racing. What about teaching our kids about the rare ecosystem we have? We have no biology groups for kids here, (maybe that will change with the biofilia center in Freeport). Where are the naturists groups for kids? There is so much to explore here, but so many kids are stuck on their PS2. Multi-sport facilities could be good, but I think we already have some great fields, if we just open our eyes to see them. Traditional sports are so not SoWal, in my opinion.

I understand your thoughts about traditional sports, and yes it would be cool to have the kayak team, but communities with families and schools have traditional sports, and many families participate at both the recreational and competitive level. Every community has strong traditional sports programs- that's not to say we couldn't have other sports, but football, basketball, baseball, volleyball, softball, soccer,golf, track and cross country are the backbone. I would love to see field hockey, lacrosse, crew, sailing.....

The thought of a real public pool makes me drool. That would be a sign that we "really exist" in SoWal!

I am really interested in hearing some more thoughts on the arts center. Bdarg mentioned the other day that maybe a thought for South Walton niche marketing would be calling us "The Cultural Coast" or something similar that highlights our cultural gifts- quality music, theatre, and art.

I like that -- the "Cultural Coast!" Arts center would be awesome.

The pool I understand, or maybe more than one. However, I thought traditional sports are being played by kids at schools - basketball, football, baseball, softball, volleyball, track, cross country. We have those in South Walton, or most of them, I think. The public schools have these facilities, or access to them, already, without spending a dime extra. If they would open those venues to the public when not being used by students, we could also benefit. I've been yelling this for years.

I really don't believe that sports should be restricted to kids, and would love to have another excuse to exercise. Opening up existing, underused fields, would seem the logical answer. Practice fields at UGA were open to the public for use when teams were not using them, and the citizens took advantage of the opportunity to use the facilities. That, in my opinion, is what community is about. We have limited financial resources, and it is about time we began to use the facilities for which we are paying.

the families i referenced base their stay on total charges not just highest or lowest bed tax rate so i did not mean to imply that. 2 nites on 30a for a weekend soccer tourney just isn't budget friendly. Trick question for you. Who will be the first to raise it to 12%?

So then the, generally, lowest charge of bed tax doesn't play into your scenario.

As to the trick question, my monies on Okaloosa. ;-)

I like that -- the "Cultural Coast!" Arts center would be awesome.

The pool I understand, or maybe more than one. However, I thought traditional sports are being played by kids at schools - basketball, football, baseball, softball, volleyball, track, cross country. We have those in South Walton, or most of them, I think. The public schools have these facilities, or access to them, already, without spending a dime extra. If they would open those venues to the public when not being used by students, we could also benefit. I've been yelling this for years.

I really don't believe that sports should be restricted to kids, and would love to have another excuse to exercise. Opening up existing, underused fields, would seem the logical answer. Practice fields at UGA were open to the public for use when teams were not using them, and the citizens took advantage of the opportunity to use the facilities. That, in my opinion, is what community is about. We have limited financial resources, and it is about time we began to use the facilities for which we are paying.

Sports are different now than when we were kids. Many sports are practically year round, and many kids play on school teams and comp or rec teams outside of school. Personally, that lifestyle is not for my family, but we are friends with many families here and around the country whose lives pretty much revolve around the kids' sports and traveling every weekend, etc. We have good friends in KY- all 3 boys played uber-competitive soccer, and played for their school teams. Boys 1 & 2 got full rides to Vassar and UA-Huntsville. The cost was the family split apart every weekend to attend multiple soccer tournaments- they were never in town and never together. But many families choose this route, and many families moving here expect this level of sports.

Say goodbye to real summer vacations- the kids are on the road, or not allowed to leave due to practice schedules. But that is the way things are now. Many family vacations revolve around tournaments.

Oh and BTW- I like "Cultural Coast " too. It is our cultural offerings that differentiate us from the neighboring areas.

I guess the thing to do is google:

community aquatic centers

indoor aquatic centers

So I can try to figure out how these things are paid for. Maybe a combination of user fees and corporate sponsorships. Do it with the Rec plat fee money instead of another park where two roads meet in the north end.