A new football hub in Sumter is ready for the season.
With help from the Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce and City of Sumter officials, a ceremonial ribbon was cut on Dillon Park’s new football facility on Sept. 19, 2019.
As part of the Penny for Progress, Dillon Park got a new exercise track and playground equipment in the spring of 2017. And with a Sumter County Recreation & Parks Football Jamboree slated for Saturday morning, families can now enjoy three new football fields, thanks to the Capital Penny Sales Tax.
County Council Chairman James T. McCain Jr. welcomed the crowd at Dillon Park, noting that Sumter has a world class softball, baseball and soccer complex at Patriot Park.
“And now we have a world class football complex here in Sumter as well,” he said.
McCain recited a phrase used by fellow Councilman Eugene Baten: If you invest in yourself, others will invest in you.
Council member Vivian Fleming-McGhaney offered an invocation, thanking God for “every good and perfect gift.”
She also thanked God for all the “servants who made this project come to fruition.”
Councilman Eugene Baten led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance; also in attendance was Councilman Artie Baker.
McGhaney, whose District includes Dillon Park, thanked everyone for being present as “it shows the unity that we have here in Sumter.”
She said she doesn’t take public service lightly and has been on Council long enough to remember when the first Penny for Progress was being discussed.
“We want to keep Sumter progressing,” she said. “City and County together.”
McCain thanked City Manager Deron McCormick for being present to show support for Team Sumter, and noted that with the City’s Palmetto Tennis Center and Aquatics Center, Sumter will be known for our sports facilities.
Sumter County Administrator Gary Mixon also recognized support from the City of Sumter, along with the Development Board, Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce, and Santee Lynches Regional Council of Governments as “it takes a team to accomplish tasks like this.”
“I see the folks that make a difference in Sumter,” he said.
Mixon thanked the Sumter County Purchasing Department for their work on the project and thanked Assistant County Administrator Lorraine Dennis for her work.
Mixon also thanked architect John Jackson from Jackson/Sims Architects for his vision and ongoing collaborations with County Government.
“There’s a lot of good things going on in this community,” Mixon said, and thanked Hardee Construction for their work on Dillon Park.
Recreation, he said, isn’t a core function of County Government like law enforcement or Emergency Medical Services, but recreation enhances the quality of life for all the citizens of the county.
“I’m proud that County Council and the community choose to do this well,” he said.
Recreation & Parks Director Phil Parnell said he’s excited to have a facility like Dillon Park as he’s been in recreation for 26 years.
“We’re the envy of other recreation and parks departments in the state of South Carolina,” he said, noting that his staff and maintenance crew are the best in the state as well.
“We’re blessed to have great people who take pride in trying to offer recreation and park services to our community,” he said.
The upgrades include three new regulation fields, wireless scoreboards, goal posts, an irrigation system, sidewalks, LED lighting, a concession stand and press box, a pavilion area, a parking lot and a new storage building. #SumterCountySC #TeamSumter #SumterSC