Parks and Rec Foundation holds groundbreaking ceremony for SHAC phase II

The Vestavia Hills Parks and Recreation Foundation held a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for phase two of the Sicard Hollow Athletic Complex.

Phase one of the SHAC, which was completed in 2011, includes fields and the Buffalo Rock concession stand. President-elect of the Foundation board Susan Compton said that phase two of the SHAC will include the Blue Cross Blue Shield fitness trail, a splash pad and a new pavilion.

Phase two is projected to open late spring 2017. 

“Today is a groundbreaking for phase two and a thank you and celebration for the first phase,” Compton said. “We are recognizing two of our major donors, Buffalo Rock and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama.”

The effort for the athletic complex was pushed by Vestavia’s need for more field space. The executive director of the Foundation Leigh Belcher said that the fields at the SHAC have provided a space for soccer, little league football and lacrosse. It has also taken pressure off of the other fields in the community.

“This venue has also allowed us to bring people outside of the community in by hosting some  tournaments and things like that,” Belcher said. “We needed this in Vestavia, to bring people into the community.”

The Foundation is beginning a new campaign to continue progress like this at the SHAC into other areas of Vestavia.

“We are kicking off our Finish Strong campaign trying to raise $700,000 for additional parks and upgrading what we have already,” Compton said. “We are trying to get the rest of the parks in this city up to this quality.”

The Finish Strong campaign is meant to be a community effort. Belcher said the Foundation is aiming for  families that are willing to make a three-year pledge. This pledge may be $1,000 for three years or more. This is primarily how the foundation is planning to raise money for the campaign.

“We need the community to invest in the parks because the tax dollars don’t pay for everything we want,” Belcher said. “You can’t provide this kind of property with the tax dollars that are there. We have to have public and private partnerships.”

Now that phase two of the Sicard Hollow Athletic Complex is finished, Compton said the Foundation is ready to upgrade other parks in the community.

“We have seen that the effort does work, we have seen that we can do it, it can be quality and we can get it done,” Compton said.

For more information on the Vestavia Hills Parks and Recreation Foundation, visit http://vhprf.org.