Joe Graves’ dream to create a top-notch community sports facility to honor his son – a Vero Beach High School football player who died in a boating accident 10 years ago when he was just 15 – finally came true last Thursday, as dozens of dignitaries, school and city officials, and others gathered to officially open the $7.6 million sports complex that bears his son’s name.

The Jimmy Graves Sports & Community Complex, located across the street from Vero Beach High School, features an eight-lane Florida High School Athletic Association regulation size track, field event stations, soccer and lacrosse fields, bleachers, an impressive clubhouse with locker rooms and a press box, along with the county’s first fully inclusive playground.

With the complex complete, the school district will be able to host competitive track and field competitions for the first time. The playing fields and track are named for the late Bill Wilson Jr., who died in 2020. Wilson coached the high school track and field teams to state championships in 1989 and 1990.

“Jimmy believed that all students should have the same opportunity to compete on their home field in front of their friends and family,” said Graves, an attorney and former City of Vero Beach council member. “This complex will make a difference in countless lives.”

“We wanted his name spoken. We wanted him remembered,” he said, his voice cracking with emotion. “His life mattered. His life was impactful. This complex and seeing his name across the entrance does more than you’ll ever know to ease our pain.”

Graves bought the 11-acre parcel from Indian River County in 2017. After struggling unsuccessfully for several years to raise enough money to build a youth sports complex, he donated the property to the school board in January 2021 with the stipulation that the completed facility bear his son’s name.

“This is something we’ve been waiting for a very, very long time,” district Superintendent David Moore told those gathered on Jan. 22. “The only reason we are able to cut this ribbon today is because the community got behind this idea in a very powerful way. Folks in our community knew how important it was.”

About $6 million was raised through public and private donations, including $1 million from the City of Vero Beach. Another $1 million was contributed by the now-defunct Education Foundation of Indian River County. The rest of the money came from the state’s 2024 special appropriations funding, according to school district CFO Bruce Green.

“It’s a tremendous asset to the community, one of the best community investments the city has ever made,” Vero Beach Mayor John Cotugno told Vero Beach 32963. “We primarily did it for the playground. That was the clincher to get it done. It’s hard for an individual to put something like this together. It took the school district working with the community to make it happen – an excellent example of public-private cooperation.”

The track and field facility is enclosed by new fencing and will be lit up with bright LED sports lighting for night events. A new LED scoreboard will keep athletes and audiences informed. The high school’s soccer and lacrosse teams are already using the fields for practice, with lacrosse season starting last week and continuing until regional championship games in May.

Response to the 5,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art FPL Bright Spot Playland inclusive playground “has been absolutely phenomenal,” Green said. “Go there pretty much any time of day and you’ll see people of all ages – kids, parents, grandparents pushing kids in wheelchairs. People are using the playground like crazy.”

Florida Power & Light contributed $500,000 toward the playground’s $650,064 design and construction costs through its NextEra Energy Foundation.

The playground is designed to meet Americans with Disabilities Act specifications and includes handicapped-accessible swings and ramps, climbing bars, musical gongs and other sensory features, with a soft, flexible ground-covering to prevent injuries if children fall. The installation was done by Play Space Services, Inc.

Karen Metcalf, whose 8-year-old son Lochlan is autistic and has been diagnosed as speech-delayed, stopped by the playground during the ceremony after his occupational therapy appointment nearby. Lochlan says it is his favorite playground, she said. They have been coming to the playground for about a month.

“I like that it has different obstacles for him to use like steppingstones,” Metcalf said. “We are working with him on his balance. Also, we are a musical family, and he loves the gongs and he can identify the differences in pitch.”

Members of the public and local youth sports teams can sign up to use the track, athletic fields and other amenities. Vero Beach High School’s Athletic Department is the point of contact for those who want to use the complex and will provide information about fees and insurance requirements, Green said.

While the attractive clubhouse and complex are complete and ready to use, more work is planned for other sections of the 11-acre site.

Potential features for Phase 2 include a student entrepreneurial center, a student-run coffee shop, a student art gallery, office space for community partnerships, a concert and event venue, and a walking trail around the site.

Those plans have been set aside for at least a year, as the district completes a major project that increases the number of K-8 middle schools, moves freshmen to the high school, and repurposes several school campuses to better meet student needs, Green said. “Once that is all done, we can take another look at those ideas and possibly start some fundraising.”