GULF SHORES, Ala. - There are several projects underway in the recreation department at Gulf Shores including a resurfacing of the track at the Sportsplex on County Road 6.

Other work going on include the demolition of the 40-year-old concession stand at Sims Park and roofing work on other facilities as well, Grant Brown, Director of Recreation and Cultural Affairs said.

Gulf Shores’ Sportplex has been the site of the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s track state championships for the past eight seasons. It is also under contract to host the meet again the first week of May.

Part of that contract says the city must provide adequate facilities and the 13-year-old surface was in a state of disrepair. The meet attracts about 4,000 people to the area and brings an economic impact of more than $1.1 million.

In July the council OK’d $250,000 to $300,000 to resurface the track and sought bids. The three bid received by the city created confusion so in September Brown recommended the city hire Ed Norton of Holcombe Norton Partners, a sports architect from Birmingham, to come up with specifications for the project, examine the bids and see the project through.

The track will is being built to collegiate standards including the most durable surface available. With the upgrades, the price could go as high as $450,000, Brown told the council in September.  Norton’s services will cost the city about $23,000.

“They’ve completed all the asphalt work and they had to wait a minimum of 30 to 45 days for the asphalt to cure so the oils would come out of it before they put the polyurethane on it,” Brown said. “They plan to be back on site in the middle of February, right after Mardi Gras, to start doing the resurfacing work.”

Other areas of the facility are also getting upgrades.

“The high jump has been redone, the pole vault runway has been redone, the steeple chase has been put in a paved and all the conduit has been run,” Brown said. “Now they are just ready to go in and put the drainage tiles around and then they’ll come in and do the resurface around mid-February. We should be out of there by mid-March.”

Also in September, the council agreed to spend just under $20,000 for the engineering and architecture for a new concession stand to replace the 40-year old building there now. The entire structure will end up costing the city about $250,000.

“We have started to demolish the Sims Park restroom and concession stand building and we should be opening the contractors’ bids on Jan. 22 to hire a contractor to construct the new building,” Brown said.

Hundreds of teams come to both Gulf Shores and Orange Beach all summer long to play tournaments and enjoy the amenities of the resort towns. Sometimes there aren’t enough fields and the games are sent out of town.

Brown says the upgrades planned at Sims will give the city another place for tournament play and keep those visitors from having to travel out of town for games.

“When these people are coming to town they expect to play on high-quality fields and have restrooms that work and are clean,” he said. “You’ll see some improvements coming to those sports fields there, too. The purpose is twofold. One is a facelift for that park which is the oldest park in the city and it needs to be brought up to the other athletic sports quality like we have out at the quad plex and the sportsplex.

“The building that was there was originally constructed in 1974 or 75. So we’re taking that down, doing some landscaping around that building and correcting some problems. The whole thing was just undersized.”

Brown said the fields will also serve the city’s youth programs as well.

 “We’ll expand our concessions,” he said. “We’re actually putting a hood system in to be able to have indoor cooking, a fryer and a grill. We’ll be able to have hot dogs and hamburgers and fries for our evening at the ball field meal. Parents tend to eat there sometimes three times a week during baseball and softball season.”

Brown also said new roof projects are ongoing at the Bodenhamer Recreation Center and the Erie Meyer Civic Center.