OWENSBORO, Ky. (July 28, 2015) — Owensboro Public Schools will work collaboratively with Kentucky Wesleyan College to build a new track & field complex, located between the Owensboro Middle School North and South campuses on South Griffith Avenue, with support from Owensboro Health.
The facility will be installed where the current track, split between those two campuses, is located. The new venue will be called the Owensboro Health Track & Field Complex.
Both Owensboro High School and Kentucky Wesleyan will use the facility to host home meets, as well as potential KHSAA, Great Midwest Athletic Conference, and NCAA Division II championship events. It will also be utilized by the public to promote wellness activities throughout the region.
Sponsorship of the project is complementary to Owensboro Health’s mission “to heal the sick and to improve the health of the communities we serve,” stated Philip A. Patterson, FACHE, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Owensboro Health.
“It will give students and community members access to the facility for exercise and health benefits, create a significant tourism opportunity for the economic health of Owensboro and Daviess County, as well as function as an amenity to enhance our recruitment efforts,” he added.
Dr. Nick Brake, OPS Superintendent, added, “We’re excited about this new partnership with Kentucky Wesleyan. Enhancing the facility will benefit both high school and college programs across the region. We are very thankful that Owensboro Health is part of this partnership.”
“This facility will help take Kentucky Wesleyan track and field to an entirely new level,” said Wesleyan President Bart Darrell. “For the first time ever, Owensboro and Daviess County will be able to host collegiate track and field competitions. We are very grateful to have such an engaged community partner in Owensboro Health.”
The project will include a high-quality synthetic track surface plus field event venues, a steeplechase pit; runway for long and triple jumps; a javelin area; pole vault runway; and shot put and discus/hammer throw event pads.
”Owensboro is such a sports-minded city and has long been a hotbed for high school track and field in Kentucky. This venture will benefit so many people in our community and beyond, plus this will add to our legacy as we continue to build stronger programs at Kentucky Wesleyan,” said Tony Rowe, head coach for Wesleyan’s track & field and cross country programs.
The Owensboro Health Track & Field Complex will cost approximately one million dollars. The RBS Design Group is serving as the architect for the project.
The OPS Board of Education has approved the project and is starting a BG-1 with the state to begin the process for construction. There is no timetable for facility completion.
-Owensboro Public Schools and Kentucky Wesleyan College-