Dunlap officially approves plans to construct $8.5 million training center at high school

The Dunlap school board on Wednesday night approved plans to move ahead with an $8.5 million indoor athletic complex.

A 42,500-square-foot indoor facility — the Dunlap Training Center — will be constructed on the high school campus at the corner of Legion Hall Road and Cedar Hill Drive in Dunlap. The Dunlap Training Center is slated to be funded by the school's reserves, containing about $38 million, according to Dunlap superintendent Scott Dearman.

More about the project:Answering 4 big questions about the proposed $8.5 million Dunlap Training Center

"(It) will be a tremendous asset to our student-athletes and community," Dunlap athletics director Jason Holmes said Wednesday night.

The structure will be a 283-by-150-foot building equipped with three full-size basketball courts, a 165-meter indoor track and an area for a long jump and pole vault pit. It will also include a batting cage, golf simulator, dance studio, storage room, restroom/locker room areas, a small office and training room.

This training center was the brainchild of a strategic planning group that resumed in 2022 following an extended break due to the pandemic. The practice space became a reality following a presentation of the proposed addition at the June 20 school board meeting.

“This really has been two years in the making,” Dearman told the Journal Star in June.

Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.