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The Alachua County Sports and Events Center is set to host its first track and field event of the spring season Friday. The ACSEC, located at Celebration Pointe, will host the Jimmy Carnes Invitational, the first of multiple events taking place at the facility until August.
President and CEO of RAADSPORTS Richard Blalock said the events center is booked every weekend until Aug. 12, and multiple sports and competitions will take place at the 148,000 square foot facility.
The Jimmy Carnes Invitational will feature athletes from all ages, and Blalock said 14 universities will be competing.
Multiple Events
The ACSEC is set to host a variety of events throughout the spring season, including the Florida High School Indoor Championship and the National Junior College Athletic Association Indoor Championship. The high school indoor championship will take place Jan. 26-28, and the NJCAA Indoor Championship is set for March 1-2.
Additionally, multiple Division I and II conferences will have their conference championships at the facility. The Sun Belt, Peach Belt and Atlantic Sun will have their indoor conference championship at the ACSEC.
With the ACSEC beginning to host collegiate conference championships, Blalock hopes the SEC Indoor Championships can eventually take place at the state-of-the-art facility.
World Masters
This could be a possibility soon, as the facility was just awarded its most major event. Thursday, World Masters Athletics announced the 2025 World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships will be hosted by the ACSEC. It will take place from March 23-25, 2025, and Blalock said the event is expected to draw 4,000-to-5,000 international visitors. Moreover, this is the first time the competition will take place in the United States.
The NJCAA Championships is the last indoor track event of the spring season. In April, the facility will host Cheer Canada before the World Cheer Competition. Blalock said Cheer Ecuador could train at the facility, as well. Blalock hopes to grow the cheer community at the facility.
“Our goal over the next several years is to create a Olympic style Cheer Village and host 10 countries,” he said.
