Business View Magazine l November 2022

169 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 11 Council,the general contractors, and community stakeholders involved in the project remained focused on the end goal. O’Brien reports, “We didn’t open the whole park at once. Our first series of events was in fall of 2020 at our outdoor diamond complexes for baseball and softball. From there we hit different milestones along the way, working towards a grand opening celebration in April of 2021. Now we’re at the end of our first full year of operation, and I’m proud to say that the park has exceeded expectations, in some areas very significantly.” Today, Sand Mountain Park & Amphitheater is home to 16 tennis courts, 14 outdoor turf fields, a 5,000+ person capacity outdoor amphitheater, an indoor competition/lap pool, an outdoor water park, multiple playgrounds, an RV park, an 18-hole disc golf course, a 3.5+ mile walking/running trail, two dog parks, and a 103,000-square-foot community recreation center that includes four hardwood courts, a 2-story fitness center, two group exercise studios, a 2-lane indoor track, concessions, locker rooms and conference/party rooms. O’Brien boasts, “It’s turned out how we dreamt it to be. All the credit goes to the city of Albertville and the community. There was significant buy-in and a lot of resources poured into this project. The biggest takeaway from Sand Mountain Park is that people reap many rewards, from businesses to kids, parents, seniors and all the different folks positively impacted by the park daily.” With a mission to improve mental and physical health in the Sand Mountain region, the park is also focused on driving economic impact for the community. “We were projected in year one to hit about $4 million in economic impact in year one, and we did $14.5 million. We are approaching $ 27 million in economic impact in year two. So, it has been substantial,” reports O’Brien. Albertville is feeling the impact, with new hotels, restaurants, and retail shops SAND MOUNTA IN PARK & AMPHI THEATRE ’