Where Champions Thrive

Gainesville, Florida has always been a sports haven, with multiple facilities that can cater to virtually any sport. In fact, with the opening last year of the Alachua County Sports & Events Center at Celebration Pointe, the Gainesville Sports Commission’s description of the city — “Where champions come to train, play and win!” — has never been more appropriate.
 

“Our community has had some great, immediate successes with this brand-new indoor facility,” says Joleen Cacciatore Miller, the executive director of the Gainesville Sports Commission. The 130,000-square-foot building is Florida’s largest multi-sports and events facility of its kind. Opened in June 2023, it features more than 90,000 square feet of uninterrupted event space suitable for all types of sports and events. There are two lobbies and pre-function areas, totaling 6,350 square feet.
 

The space can be configured for 18 volleyball courts, 10 high-school-regulation basketball courts or 21 pickleball courts. There is a 6,500-square-foot cheer studio with two floors and a tumble run, which can accommodate cheer, gymnastics and all types of mat sports. The Center has 2,400 spectator seats, with an additional 1,100 portable seats available.
 

There’s also a VIP Sky Deck, the Fast Break Sports Bar, and additional outdoor event areas, along with Wi-Fi, in-house catering availability and two covered parking garages with more than 2,200 parking spaces. The Sports & Events Center also has more than 18,000 square feet of additional multi-function space with premium indoor meeting facilities, breakout rooms for classes and presentations, hospitality areas, officials’ rooms, physical therapy and recovery rooms, media area and more.
 

Indoor Track & Field Facility

A premier feature of the Alachua County Sports & Events Center is the World Athletics-compliant Indoor Track & Field Facility. It features a 200-meter portable Mondo six-lane banked track, a Mondo eight-lane 60-meter sprint area, raised pole vault area, two raised long jump/triple jump areas, high jump, a weight throw/shot put area with cage, and a five-lane 60-meter Mondo warm-up area.
 

“It’s very special, because it’s the only indoor track and field facility in the state of Florida,” says Miller. “The portable, banked track is put up from January into March, depending on what championships we’re hosting, then broken down and put away.”
 

The Sports & Events Center has hosted a number of notable track and field events already, including the Jimmy Carnes Indoor Track and Field Meet and the National Junior College Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championships. Coming up at the Alachua County Sports & Events Center is the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championship in February 2025 and the USA Track & Field Master Indoor Championship in March.
 

Also coming to the venue in March 2025 is the World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships, with 24 events including track & field, and more than 4,000 participants from over 80 countries. Additionally, the Seventh Annual Gainesville Indoor Pickleball Showcase will take place at the Sports & Events Center later this year from August 16 to 18.
 

“What’s also so special about the Alachua County Sports & Events Center is its location in Celebration Pointe, which is in the heart of our entertainment district and right off of I-75,” says Miller. “When participants and families come to the Sports & Events Center, they can stay in this area all day. It’s a really great space.”
 

When not competing or watching the action, athletes, families and spectators are within easy walking distance to restaurants, shops, attractions, movie theaters and hotels (including the Hotel Indigo Gainesville, an IHG property that’s on site and within steps of the Sports & Events Center). In fact, there are at least 2,000 hotel rooms located within a mile of the Sports & Events Center, out of more than 5,500 hotel rooms in the Gainesville/Alachua County area, to suit all budgets and tastes, including full-service conference centers.
 

Building the Sports Foundation

Of course, the Alachua County Sports & Events Center builds on a solid sports foundation in Alachua County. Among the many venues that continue to entice tournaments and sports events is Champions Park in Newberry, which has 16 state-of-the-art youth baseball and fast-pitch softball fields. The fields all have lights, turf infields and grass outfields, with permanent fencing at 220 feet, along with covered and enclosed concrete dugouts, large bullpen areas for each team, pre-game batting practice area and observation towers for coaches, scouts and recruiters. Spectators enjoy covered and semi-enclosed viewing areas, concessions, about 1,000 parking spaces and more.
 

The artificial turf infields at Champions Park are a big attraction for tournament owners. “We do get occasional quick afternoon rain showers in this area,” Miller says, “and as soon as the rain stops, the players can get back on the field with no waiting. We have quite a few tournaments coming to us because of this feature, especially for some of the softball tournaments we have, with over 180 teams over four days. That’s a lot of games to get in, and these turf infields really help the scheduling.”
 

The Stephen C. O’Connell Center on the University of Florida campus is a 292,000-square-foot facility with 20,000 square-feet of open space and a seating capacity of 10,500 in the main arena, and is home to many Florida Gator sports including basketball, volleyball and gymnastics. USA Weightlifting, USA Volleyball and Florida state cheerleading events, among other events, have all been held in the O’Connell Center arena. “It’s great to be able to help young participants get that college feel,” says Miller. “The center also has an eight-lane natatorium, with seating for over 1,000, along with a diving well, so we’ve been able to host Junior Olympic swimming events.”
 

Unique to the area is the 100-acre Easton-Newberry Sports Complex, home to the Easton-Newberry Archery Center, which has hosted a number of USA Archery events. The Center includes a dedicated indoor archery range with 18 shooting lanes (with distances up to 18 meters). In addition, the facility has an adjoining indoor gym for basketball, volleyball and multi-use, but which also can be used to provide more than 42 additional archery lanes for large indoor events.
 

The Easton-Newberry Sports Complex also has three outdoor covered archery ranges (with shooting distances up to 90 meters) and a 60-acre wooded course. Field archery offers 54 target mats (with a shade pavilion, concession stand and restrooms nearby), and for larger outdoor target events, nearby space can be transformed into a second field capable of holding 64 target mats. In addition to archery, the Easton-Newberry Sports Complex also offers baseball and softball fields with lights and skinned infields, four multi-use grass fields, cross-country running, a laser tag range, playground and more.
 

In the Middle of It All
A key attribute of the Gainesville/Alachua County area is its highly accessible location. “We’re in the center of northern Florida, and that’s a huge plus for athletes and families,” says Miller. Gainesville is right on I-75, a key north-south highway, putting all of the Southeast within a day’s drive (Atlanta and Miami are both within five hours). Gainesville also has its own regional airport that is just three miles northeast of the city, and international airports in Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa all are within 90 minutes to two hours away.
 

The highly experienced Gainesville Sports Commission (GSC) hosts, creates and supports dozens of events every year, working hand-in-hand with tournament and event owners and directors to make the experience memorable and exceptional for athletes, coaches, families and fans. Importantly, the GSC has key connections to the community, which helps in assembling Local Organizing Committees, recruiting volunteers, helping to market and promote events, securing hotel rates, working with local media and much more.
 

And it doesn’t hurt that there are so many top-notch sports facilities and venues in the Gainesville/Alachua County area, all of which work closely with the GSC to find the perfect match for any event. (For a full list of venues, visit GainesvilleSportsCommission.com/facilities.)
 

“We’re a sports rich town,” says Miller, “but we keep our small-town charm. When athletes, families and fans come here, they receive the attention and importance they deserve.” SDM