Sneak a peek at new stadium in Columbus. More details on the $27.6 million sports complex
When the newest sports facility in Columbus opens next week, Muscogee County School District athletics director Jeff Battles expects it to be considered among the state’s 10 best high school stadiums.
“A huge part of the design was sight levels from the stands and the different angles of the bleachers, and the bathroom facilities and where the concessions are and the ease of getting to them and the ease of getting around the stadium,” Battles told the Ledger-Enquirer during a sneak-peek tour of MCSD’s Odis Spencer Stadium. “… I’m really hoping the spectators enjoy it. The few people we’ve had come by here, they really think it’s awesome.”
Named in honor of the former coach at William Henry Spencer High School (no relation), Odis Spencer Stadium will open with a football game Oct. 20 at 7 p.m., when Kendrick hosts Southwest (Bibb County).
“It’s just going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for them,” Battles said, “especially since they’re the first ones on the field, the first ones taking a kickoff.”
The game will be the first of 19 events over five weeks this fall at the stadium after the ribbon-cutting ceremony Oct. 15, starting at 10 a.m.
It’s opening toward the end of the football season because the stadium wasn’t ready in August and MCSD didn’t want to wait until next season.
“We felt it was important to go ahead and open as soon as we could,” Battles said. “One, we want our student athletes to use the facility. Two, it gives us a good chance to get in here and see how things work and see what’s good and what needs improvement. That way, when we open full-time next year, we’re able to make adjustments and make it a smooth flow.”
Be careful trying to find it. Type the stadium’s name in Google search, and you get the high school’s address, 1000 Fort Benning Road. But the stadium is nearly 1 mile away, at 4100 Cusseta Road.
Stadium details
Built on 38 acres, the complex is on the site of the former Cusseta Road Elementary School and former apartments. The stadium has more than 6,000 seats, including approximately 200 with chairbacks available to anybody who sits there first.
The artificial turf is marked for football, soccer, lacrosse and two flag football fields. Five tennis courts outside the stadium have covered bleachers.
Stadium amenities include more than 100 toilets, a concession stand on both sides, a 40-foot video board behind one endzone, plus a standard scoreboard behind the opposite endzone, more than 800 paved parking spaces and a press box with three media rooms, two coaches rooms and an area for school administrators.
Two viewing areas without seats add options for spectators: The hill behind the endzone next to the main gate has artificial turf — where kids could roll around — and both sides of the field have a plaza for folks who would rather stand or nervously pace to watch.
The fieldhouse has two locker rooms accommodating 100 players each, an officials room and restrooms for people playing and watching matches on the tennis courts.
The only part of the stadium that won’t be ready for the opening game is the press box elevator, Battles said, so the stairs are the lone point of access for now.
“We’ll get some feedback,” he said about the stadium’s condition. “I’m sure we need to put a sidewalk somewhere we didn’t. It won’t be perfect, but we’re hoping they really enjoy it.”
Need and impact
This project will give MCSD’s eight high schools with athletics programs a third stadium to use, in addition to the MCSD-owned Kinnett Stadium (5,000 seats) and the city-owned A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium (15,000 seats), alleviating some scheduling problems. Most notably, it will allow one more football game to be played in town per week on Fridays, which means fewer on Thursdays and Saturdays. And that means more chances for more fans and more revenue.
“A Friday game brings in a better crowd than any other day,” Battles said.
The new complex also gives MCSD another facility meeting Georgia High School Association standards to host state-level events.
Funding and budget
Funding for the project’s amended budget of $27,609,000 comes from the 1% Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax renewed by Columbus voters in 2015 and 2020.
“This just shows how much the citizens of Columbus have believed in the Muscogee County School District and the things we do,” he said. “… We’re going to host other community events and such out here, but for our student athletes to have a facility like this to compete in is just amazing.”
The project’s original budget was $25.5 million when construction started 17 months ago, but the site work and the aluminum railings cost significantly more than expected, Battles said. Nonetheless, he praised the spArchitect of Columbus for the design and Freeman & Associates of Columbus for the construction that kept the project within the revised budget.
“It’s been a true partnership,” he said. “There’s been kinks, and there’s been some really good things, but we’ve worked through all of them together to put the product out there.”
Who was Odis Spencer?
Odis Spencer coached William Henry Spencer High School to four Georgia Interscholastic Association state football championships (1950, 1952, 1956 and 1968) in 23 seasons (1948-71) and four times was named GIA Coach of the Year. He retired with a record of 154-54-14. Thirteen of his players signed professional football contracts. He was inducted into the Georgia Athletics Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the Chattahoochee Valley Sports Hall of Fame. He also coached basketball and track & field and served as the school’s athletics director.
This story was originally published October 12, 2022 at 2:41 PM.
