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Morristown Landing held its grand opening Saturday with the Morristown Area Chamber of Commerce and many local leaders and community members.

Hundreds of people gathered at the coveted Landing on 4355 Durham Landing to welcome the new sports complex to the area.

Although the facility held its ribbon cutting ceremony Saturday, its doors have been open since March, hosting tournaments and allowing members to enjoy its long list of amenities.

Standing at 115,000 square feet, the complex has a Family Aquatic Center, 10-Lane Competition Pool, Fitness Center, four Hardwood Basketball or six Hardwood Volleyball Courts, Play Climb Walls and outdoor splash pad donated by the Morristown Rotary Club.

Morristown City Mayor Gary Chesney gave a welcoming address to attendees at the grand opening.

“Good morning, and welcome to what I am pretty sure I can accurately say is the official recognition of a historic turning point moment for the city of Morristown,” he said. “We’ve had a few of these kinds of historic moments before and it takes some heroes to create them.

“About 25-30 years ago, many of our citizens began recognizing the need for something better. The public kept asking for it but the reasons to postpone, or say no to suggestions and ideas were plentiful. . Those who could make it happen just couldn’t seem to summon up the willpower or the vision or the courage that comes with financial confidence to put together a real plan.”

Chesney then recognized key figures in making the Landing possible and successful.

“I stand here this morning, as we dedicate this $32 million state-of-the-art recreation and events center, and believe it is important we recognize some of those heroes who played the biggest parts in making this happen,” he said.

“Tony Petitt from Burwil Construction who has served as our construction manager. He’s experienced much of the problem solving challenges as Tony Cox, and Mr. Petitt has done a nice job in getting us from day one to this day.

“Most certainly, I’m not about to leave out those on the list of heroes who were at the front line, the closest and most answerable to the public; who could have ducked away, but shared in the public vision and made this happen. Our city council members.

“We asked city taxpayers to fund this new facility, to allow the creation of an entirely new, standalone category in the annual city budget. I’ve known of elected local governing bodies who denied a property tax increase of 2 or 3 cents for fear of facing a public lynch mob. I’m convinced that when our council approved the 25 cent increase required to bring this to our city, the presence of scarcely a whimper of protest indicates just how strong the public support really was.”

Chesney thanked the Landing’s sponsors and also the citizens of the city who helped make this facility possible.

“I want to also say thanks to a couple of sponsors who became landing partners with us. Investments from Covenant Health and our rotary club will help with enhancing the visit.

“I compiled this list of heroes and at the very top are our city taxpayers who paid for this and allowed us to do it. I thank you. You deserve the good times that will happen here.”

As he closed, he reflected on this monumental celebration and how the community will benefit from the facility for years to come.

“This is a historical day not just with a new facility, but also a cultural and generational shift for our city,” he said, “I’ve lived here for 601 months. For those of you trying to do math quickly in your heads, that’s 50 years and one month a lot of things have changed here,” Chesney said.

“Many of those who were in

charge then, are not now. Morristown is now a diverse job center. People come here to work, shop, eat, take care of their health and many are staying here to live.

“Our industrial recruiters who convince companies to locate here will tell you at the top of those visitors’ list of questions is ‘What can my people do in their free time?. From parks to walking trails, a very long list of athletic opportunities through our park and recreation department, a beefed up farmers market, outdoor musical and celebration events and now this.

Tony Cox, City Administrator, walked guests through the process of how the landing came together.

“We knew we had talked about the idea of getting something together and how we could bring this to our community and the first thing we needed to do is figure out where,” Cox said. “We met with Paul Lebel and he helped us identify sites for the Landing and we arranged some tours.”

Cox then discussed a story about how with rain and mud it made it difficult for city officials to tour the area but Lebel with his four wheel drive Jeep made it possible.

“Paul got us there and we acquired the property and we made it work for our community,” Cox said.

Cox discussed other key figures in helping the landing come together, especially in the height of a pandemic.

“We had the concept and the land, all we needed was a design,” Cox said. “We turned to Lose Design who are familiar with other sports complexes. We told them we wanted to make a statement, something functional and timeless and they took it to heart and they provided this facility that really sparkles.

“If you want to talk to people about what is actually in the building, talk to Chris Underwood and Tommy McCall. They are the guys who have blood and sweat in every part of this facility.

“We picked a time to go forward with this project that had some real challenges,” he said. “COVID was going strong and that meant buying supplies was difficult, we had supply change issues and a labor shortage.

“This team pulled together and found a way for things to happen. They have a can-do attitude and they made things work for our community.”

Todd Quillen, Rotary Club of Morristown incoming president, told the audience that history was made.

“The founder of Rotary is a man named Paul Harris and he founded it 1905 with the sole purpose of helping the community,” he said. “He stated ‘whatever rotary may mean to you, to the world it will be known by the results it achieves’ and I know today we achieved something good and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

Gordon Lintz, president and CAO Morristown-Hamblen Healthcare System, discussed his excitement for the facility and the partnership between the two.

“Covenant Health and Morristown Hamblen are proud to be the official health sponsor of the Morristown Landing,” he said. “As your local healthcare system we appreciate the opportunity to become involved in opportunities to promote health and better health in our community.

“We are excited about some space we will have here at the Landing. Our biggest delay is getting a 12-ton HVAC unit, which continues to get delayed, but as soon as it is delivered we look forward to being opened right out of the front door.”

Morristown Landing is located at 4355 Durham Landing in Morristown. The facility is open Monday through Thursday from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Friday 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.