The Cecil Recreation Complex at the Cecil Commerce Center is a comprehensive recreational facility on the west side of

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

. The $25 million project was part of the 2000

Better Jacksonville Plan The Better Jacksonville Plan is a growth management plan implemented by the city of Jacksonville, Florida. It was the signature project of Mayor John Delaney. It was approved by Jacksonville voters on September 5, 2000. Lex Hester was a key adv ...

and will eventually include .Poisson, Julie

Real Estate Construction Review, Florida Edition, Page 19 The City of Jacksonville, Parks and Recreation department manages the facilities.

History

Prior to 1999,

Naval Air Station Cecil Field Naval Air Station Cecil Field or NAS Cecil Field was a United States Navy air base, located in Duval County, Florida, Duval County, Florida. Prior to October 1999, NAS Cecil Field was the largest military base in terms of acreage in the Jackson ...

included nearly . During that era, the city of Jacksonville created the Cecil Field Park, which is now part of the Cecil Recreation Complex.

Facilities

Cecil Field Park

A new (post Y2K) gymnasium and fitness center are located there. Amenities that remain from the Navy days include: an 18-hole golf course (closed in 2024), two lighted baseball fields, an outdoor basketball court, a football field, two pedestrian docks for fishing at Lake Newman, numerous picnic tables, grills, and playground equipment; restrooms, two adult softball fields, a youth softball field and six lighted tennis courts.

Equestrian center

The Jacksonville Equestrian Center is the jewel of the Cecil Recreation Complex. The multi-purpose center was opened in March 2004 and its 4,000 seats have hosted a diverse group of events which range from

Dressage Dressage ( or ; , most commonly translated as "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrianism, equestrian sport defined by th ...

Rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

; the Royal

Lipizzan The Lipizzan or Lipizzaner (, , , , , , ) is a European horse breed, breed of riding horse developed in the Habsburg Empire in the sixteenth century. It is of Baroque horse, Baroque type, and is powerful, slow to mature and long-lived; the coa ...

Stallions to the

4-H 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times ...

annual horse show. Non-equestrian events have included

Monster truck A monster truck is a specialized off-road vehicle with a heavy duty suspension, four-wheel steering, large-displacement V8 engines and oversized tires constructed for competition and entertainment uses. Originally created by modifying stock p ...

shows,

Demolition derby Demolition derby is a type of motorsport, usually presented at county fairs and national events. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their v ...

, music concerts and band camp.

Community Center

The center has programs for children, teens, senior citizens and home schooling. Computer literacy programs are available for everyone. Community organizations can utilize the facilities for their meetings, and private groups can rent it for special events.

Aquatics Center

The facility, built for $5.7 million in 2004, has an olympic-sized pool and a family/exercise pool The heated indoor pools can be used year-round, but in the summer, large glass panels are opened for air circulation. The facility has hosted scores of high school swim meets since 2004. In addition to open swimming, lessons are available for children and adults. Infants and toddlers have their own programs, ''water babies'' and ''water tots'', respectively.

Water aerobics Water aerobics (waterobics, aquarobics, aquatic fitness, aquafitness, aquafit) is the performance of aerobic exercise in water such as in a swimming pool. It is done mostly vertically and without swimming typically in waist deep or deeper water. ...

classes are utilized by many senior citizens and a youth swim team is sponsored during the summer.

Softball diamonds

The ''Cecil Fastpitch Softball Complex'' includes four lighted fields, with usage limited to girls

fastpitch softball Fastpitch softball, or simply fastpitch, is a form of softball played by both women and men. While the teams are most often segregated by sex, coed fast-pitch leagues also exist. Considered the most competitive form of softball, fastpitch is the ...

teams and girls

tee-ball Tee-ball (also teeball, tee ball or T-ball) is a team sport based on a simplified form of baseball or softball. It is intended as an introduction for children to develop bat-and-ball game skills and have fun. Description Tee-ball associations ...

. ''Lake Fretwell Adult Softball'' features two fields and two pavilions.

Gymnasium

Activities in the gym itself are open basketball and volleyball; racquetball courts are also utilized. The fitness center includes free weights and

Nautilus A nautilus (; ) is any of the various species within the cephalopod family Nautilidae. This is the sole extant family of the superfamily Nautilaceae and the suborder Nautilina. It comprises nine living species in two genera, the type genus, ty ...

exercise equipment for individual use. Programs include Cardiovascular workouts, senior aerobics and personal training. Saunas are located in both locker rooms.
Jax Events website, Cecil Recreation Center

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official site at Jaxevents.comCity of Jacksonville, Recreation & Community Services, Cecil Recreation Complex
Sports venues in Jacksonville, Florida Culture of Jacksonville, Florida Parks in Jacksonville, Florida Westside, Jacksonville Buildings and structures in Jacksonville, Florida Tourist attractions in Jacksonville, Florida 2004 establishments in Florida Parks established in the 2000s