By Gordon Anderson | gordon@rantnc.com

Photos by Billy Liggett | billy@rantnc.com

Hundreds of people were on hand Saturday at the grand opening of the Lee County Athletic Park, a project that’s been in the making for at least 10 years.

The event included live music, a multi-plane flyover from the Bullseye Flight Team, speeches from several local leaders involved with the project, and a drone show to end the night. Throughout the events of the day, youth athletics contests were going on throughout the park.

The idea for the athletic park, at 210 Champion Road off Broadway Road near the U.S. 421 Bypass intersection, sprang up about a decade ago. After several years of planning and studies, Lee County voters approved a $25 million bond referendum to fund the project with just shy of 59 percent of the vote.

In addition to multiple sports fields, the LCAP has walking trails, play areas and more. Although the rising cost of materials put the project on pause for a short time in 2022, leaders broke ground in December 2023 after awarding the contract to Sanford Contractors that September. The park officially opened for team use at the start of this month, and is now open to the public.

“Thank you to everyone for recognizing that we can have nice things in Lee County, that reinvestment in our community is integral to its continued health and success, and that we deserve top of the line assets for us all to enjoy,” Susan Keller, who chaired a political committee that lobbied for passage of the bond in 2020, told the crowd. “This park was never just about sports, it’s about pride, growth and opportunity for everyone in Lee County.”