ODA opens new indoor sports facility

The Out-of-Door Academy opened its new Fox Field House on Jan. 8. 

Construction of the field house began on June 23 and was completed Dec. 23. The building, 12,300 square feet, will be used for multiple sports, including basketball, volleyball and indoor tennis. Its main purpose, according to Head of School David Mahler, is to get all team practices done earlier, so students are not forced to do homework late at night. Previously, ODA was forced to send multiple athletic teams to public facilities in Lakewood Ranch in order to practice. Now, everything can be done on campus, Mahler said. 

The building cost $2.5 million, and one million that came from the Fox family: father Larry, mother Jennifer, eighth-grader Zach and fifth-grader Sami. Larry Fox said the donation was the perfect way for the family to give back to the school, since it was a need and Zach Fox is a basketball fan.