Southern Fulton County is known for its gently rolling hills and expansive farms and pastures. The area’s rich agricultural history has traditionally lent itself to an abundance of open space and few venues for organized sports. Recognizing this deficiency, in 2000 the Southern Fulton School District commissioned a private consulting firm to determine the feasibility of developing a sports complex. The facility would be used for educational, athletic, and community activities and would contain the first regulation intermediate baseball and softball fields in the entire school district.
Two possible sites were explored: an area behind the high school that housed an existing set of non-regulation ball fields, and an unused site also located adjacent to the high school. Ultimately, the unused area was chosen as the site of construction for the Forrest R. Mellott Sports Complex. With a $100,000 grant from the Environmental Stewardship Fund, the Southern Fulton School District began construction. Once completed, the complex allowed the school’s athletic program to expand. Students were no longer forced to travel to Bedford County or into Maryland to participate in athletics.
“Grants similar to those received from DCNR are absolutely vital to small school districts such as ours, and it was absolutely vital to the success of our project,” said Ralph Scott, district superintendent.
