LAND O' LAKES, Fla. — Student athletics are on their way to the new Angeline Academy of Innovation.

What You Need To Know

  • Angeline Academy of Innovation is adding student athletics through the new Angeline Athletic Complex

  • Athletics, originally, were not in the plans for the school, but the demand from parents and students is helping put a state-of-the-art facility on the map
  • Funding for the new facility is thanks, in part, to the "Penny for Pasco" surtax
  • The facility is the first artificial turf field in Pasco County

It’s thanks, in part, to the "Penny for Pasco" — a voter-approved infrastructure surtax. Originally, athletics were not in the plans for the school. But the demand from parents and students is helping put a state-of-the-art facility on the map.

“This is the first turf in Pasco," said Matthew Wicks, senior supervisor for Athletics and Electives with Pasco County Schools.

“We originally did this in partnership with Day Spring Academy," said Wicks. "We’ve had this land for quite a long time. It used to be cows. It was a big field of cows.”

Now, it’s the new Angeline Athletic Complex. 

It will be home to the county’s first artificial turf field where a variety of sports, like football and soccer, can be played. It includes a rubber track and more.

“We have these green granules and it’s, actually, a cooling pellet that we paid for because we thought it was important to keep the field a little bit cooler for our athletes," Wicks said. "Obviously, we live in the state of Florida and it gets really hot. I’m not going to sugar coat it — it’s still going to be hot out here. But these pellets keep it 15 to 20 degrees cooler than it would on a normal turf field.”

The facility is also home to a full-sized gym.

“We installed live stream cameras in all of our gyms and all of our stadiums across Pasco County," said Wicks. "This one is a huddle camera where parents are able to log-in. If dad’s on the road or mom’s on the road, grandparents live in Indiana or whatever; they can log-in and watch that game and watch their child or their grandchild play. Which I think is a pretty cool experience.”

It was all made possible thanks to the "Penny for Pasco" sales tax.

“It’s taxpayer dollars," said Wicks. "It’s showing our community that we’re going to spend those dollars wisely and be fiscally responsible about it. This is one of the projects that helps with that. In the future, we want to do some more projects for some of our aging schools to be able to add facilities like this for our student athletes to be able to participate on.”

The facility will host all sports, except golf and swimming. Angeline Academy does not field football, baseball or softball teams. However, Wicks said they will host middle school sports along with community tournaments in the near future.