The City of Enterprise and Enterprise State Community College held an event for the groundbreaking of the expansion of Peavy Park on Jan. 10 next to the ESCC baseball/softball complex.

The approximately $4.5 million project will encompass the existing 23-acre Peavy Park off Bellwood Road and an adjacent 25-acre tract of land donated to the city by ESCC bordering George C. Wallace Drive adjoining the baseball/softball complex.

Peavey Park was dedicated in the 1980s to longtime Enterprise City Schools coach and administrator Alfred Peavy, whom Enterprise Mayor William Cooper worked with and was friends with for decades.

“I knew Coach Peavy personally,” Cooper said. “He was a former educator, he was a coach and he was my neighbor.

“Coach Peavy was very sharp as far as being a leader in sports and physical education and activities and of course he was very dedicated to his community when it comes to his leadership skills and good character.”

Peavy Park currently houses bathrooms and a small playground along with a baseball field that isn’t suitable for play and an area where youth soccer practices are held. Following the completion of this new project Peavy Park will feature sand volleyball courts, seven multi-sport fields, a walking trail, a disc golf course, parking lots, a new playground and concessions and restrooms.

“We are extremely pleased to start this project, which we believe will benefit our citizens of all ages with a variety of recreational opportunities for many years to come,” Cooper said.

The project is made possible because ESCC agreed to donate the 25 acres next to the baseball/softball complex.

“We thank the Alabama Community College System, Enterprise State Community College and ESCC Foundation Board of Directors for their cooperation and willingness to join us in this project,” Cooper said. “This project is also largely due to the diligence of our Parks and Recreation Director Billy Powell, who had the vision to turn Peavy Park into a dynamic recreation area and he sought out the means to make this happen.”

Powell worked with ESCC to come together on an agreement to make the expansion of Peavy Park happen.

“We had the land here and quite frankly weren’t doing anything with it and we realized it could be a great help to the city if we were able to work out a partnership,” ESCC President Matt Rodgers said. “I know and have a great appreciation for Mayor Cooper and his staff and they’ve done a great job of leading the city.”

The project is being split up into two parts, Project A and Project B, with the Project A being the construction of the land donated by ESCC next to the baseball/softball complex. The groundbreaking held on Jan. 10 was for the start of Project A.

Project A will see a new parking lot built at the site, which will be used by both Peavy Park and the ESCC baseball/softball complex. Also, four sand volleyball courts will be constructed to the right of the softball field and three multi-sports fields will be constructed to the right of the volleyball courts. These multi-sports fields can be used for soccer, football, kickball and other outdoor sports.

An 18-hole disc golf course will also be constructed behind the baseball-softball complex and a playground, concession stand and restrooms will be constructed next to the parking lot.

Rodgers also said that new grandstands for the baseball/softball complex and new concession stands and restrooms attached to the hitting facility will be constructed immediately following the spring sports season.

A walking trail will connect the 25 acres next to the baseball/softball complex to the current 23 acres of Peavy Park. The current Peavy Park will be the site of Project B, which will begin following the completion of Project A.

Project A will see a new parking lot installed along with four new multi-sports fields, concession stands, restrooms, a maintenance building and walking trails. Also, a future outdoor fitness area and future playground are planned to be installed at a later date. Powell said that the full project is expected to be completed in the next 24 months and said that it will be life-changing for the city.

“This is truly a monumental and exciting day for us to have the groundbreaking for the Peavy Park expansion,” Powell said. “We believe the comprehensive recreational project will be life-changing for the city and its citizens from the very young to the old. It’s also a major development for the life of Peavy Park.”

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