Morristown receives Municipal League award for Excellence in Recreation Facilities
When Morristown officials cut the ribbon on Morristown Landing earlier this year, they celebrated the culmination of a city project decades in the making.
In recognition of the concerted efforts made by the city of Morristown to improve community offerings and health and wellness outcomes, the Tennessee Municipal League (TML) is pleased to present Morristown with an award for Excellence in Recreation Facilities. The award will be presented Tuesday, July 25, 2023, at the TML 83rd Annual Conference held at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel.
Morristown leadership had long held the goal of opening a new community center with amenities that would contribute to the health, wellness, and quality of life for citizens. Through a series of public meetings with staff and citizens in 2020, officials began planning and designing a facility that would provide resources for athletics and fitness as well as provide community space.
The resulting vision became actualized in a design featuring four basketball courts capable of being converted for use to play volleyball and pickleball; a walking track; a 10-lane lap pool with diving and slides; a zero-entry pool with play area for therapy use; a full fitness center; a series of climbing walls; and various meeting rooms that can accommodate events, meetings, and conferences with in-house catering options. A splash pad outside the facility was donated by the Morristown Rotary Club to honor their centennial in the city.
Working with LOSE Design and Bur-Wil Construction, Morristown officials broke ground on the Morristown Landing Facility in 2021 and officially opened the facility in 2023 under the management of Sports Facilities Company. Despite delays in supplies and construction created by the pandemic, Morristown was able to still bring the project in under budget. Costing a little more than $32 million, the project was funded by a $0.25 property tax increase assessed beginning in 2020.
Morristown Landing is already proving to be an invaluable community investment. In the first six weeks after its opening, the 115,000-square-foot facility hosted three weekend-long tournaments one volleyball and two basketball tournaments that hosted more than 50 teams. In the same period, Morristown Landing already exceeded its year-one goal for memberships.