FOLEY – The new Foley Event Center held a grand opening on Sept 28, when the media and public were invited out to tour the facility and speak with some of the managing staff about what the center has to offer.

Recreation Director David Thompson led the tours of the facility, which is 90,565 sq ft, and can hold a total occupancy of 5,103. With 50,000 sq ft being the open floor, the center is perfect for the many sports events that are planned.

“This is not a recreation center, it’s not a civic center, it’s designed specifically for events,” said Thompson. “We’re hoping to bring sports teams, moms, dads, brothers, sisters, all in and out and have that for all of Foley. It’s going to impact Gulf Shores and Orange Beach and all of Baldwin County, so this isn’t just going to be a Foley economic impact.”

While basketball, volleyball, and pickleball are the main sports that the center is designed for, the team also hopes to attract cheer and dance, as well as other multipurpose functions. Before that though, Thompson has been working hard with Event Operations Manager Christy Raley to travel and spread the word about the Event Center. The more events they can attract to the area, the more the center’s first-class reputation will grow.

“It is going to take a little while to build it up, but the way sports tourism works is once we start building it, everybody wants to come,” Thompson said. “We’re trying to build up our resumes, very similar to what Don Staley [previous Recreation Director] did on the outside, we’re going to do the same thing on the inside. So we’re trying to just get people in here, grow our reputation, and then expand it out.”

Foley also has a great reputation for sports tourism thanks to the soccer fields, and now with the Event Center, the team hopes it will increase.

Thompson and Raley have already made multiple connections and have teams slated to visit throughout next year. A pickleball tournament is scheduled, as well as a cornhole tournament in February, but Thompson sites 9 volleyball events coming up as the centerpiece to start the center off.

“Starting January 1, pretty much every weekend through June, we have the center booked. We’re very, very excited about our lineup,” Thompson said.

The gym floor is set up to be easy, functional, and efficient. The basketball goals and volleyball nets are all stored high near the ceiling, and it takes only a push of a button to bring them down into place, ready for the game to begin. There are 6 basketball courts, and 12 volleyball and pickleball courts, and lines have been placed on the floor to separate the courts, so everything is ready for players. With different courts available with just the push of a button, set up and take down for events will be made simpler. The flooring in the facility was designed with sports in mind, and consists of a concrete slab followed by a rubberized mat service, so it gives a spring when you walk on it and will be ideal for sports players who are on their feet for events.

Visiting teams also have training rooms available with treatment tables, locker rooms equipped with showers, and flex rooms for rights holders to use as score rooms or for their personal staff.

Though marketed towards sports, Thompson hopes that other events will take place in the space as well.

“Our main focus is sports, but sports are mainly a weekend event,” Thompson said. “So we want to look at other times of the week as well, and see if we’ve got opportunities to do events then.”

Trade shows, concerts, graduations, proms, and even boat shows were all mentioned as possible events that will be taking place within the Event Center.

A box office is available for events such as concerts, and for every event there are two full concession areas in the front area, as well as a third in the east mezzanine and a warming kitchen in the rear. The building offers a prepping area, and though it will not be a full-service kitchen, it will come stocked with a freezer, a refrigerator, warming boxes and a prep table for caterers to use for certain events. The upper mezzanines offer sitting areas, one for those wishing to enjoy food from the concession stands while sitting at a table with a view of OWA, and the other a sitting area for teams to rest while not on the field. Media rooms overlooking the gym are also present, and two types of wifi are offered: one free wifi for visitors, courtesy of OWA, and one for events rights holders to ensure bandwidth. The center is completely handicap accessible, with elevators offered on the east and west sides.

The Event Center has three large storage rooms where they plan to house chairs, tables, and items for banquets, as well as bleachers that can be put away when not in use. Currently they own 3 row bleachers and can sit up to 680 visitors, but there are plans to purchase 5 row bleachers to increase the number.

One of the features the team is very proud of is the bathrooms.

“In this building, we have 82 total bathrooms,” said Thompson. “There are 57 women’s bathrooms, 22 men’s bathrooms, and 3 family bathrooms. We’re very proud of our bathrooms, we don’t feel like there will be a lot of lines during events.”

For more information on the Event Center and upcoming events, visit their website at www.FoleySportsTourism.com.

For a full gallery of the Event Center’s Grand Opening, visit our website at www.GulfCoastNewsToday.com.