St. Cloud School Board Names New $15 Million Indoor Sports Facility

(KNSI) — The St. Cloud Area School Board has officially named its new multipurpose indoor sports facility the Apex Athletic Center.

In November, a naming committee presented three options to the board: ACT Athletic Center, Apex Athletics Complex, and Apex 742 Athletic Training Facility. The 742 refers to the St. Cloud Area School District number. Rather than choosing from these three names, the board decided to create its own variation.

After discussion, they narrowed it down to either the Apex Athletics Center or the Apex 742 Athletics Center. The board then tabled the motion so they could get some designs to see what the name would look like on the building.

On Wednesday night, the board saw those designs and unanimously selected Apex Athletic Center. They favored using Apex because it reflects both the building’s height and the goal of reaching the peak of athletic training and achievement. They chose Athletic (singular) over Athletics (plural) because it better represents the activities taking place inside the building. Center was selected over Complex because the district wanted to emphasize that this is one building, not a name that could be confused with the entire campus.

The $15 million athletic center was approved by 54% of voters in April 2024. A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for May 2026, with completion anticipated in April 2027. The facility will be built on the Apollo High School campus and used for soccer, softball, lacrosse, and practices for baseball, football, and golf. It will also house batting cages and golf simulators.

With the name finalized, the board will next review designs and approve a logo. The logo shown in earlier schematics was only for visual purposes and is not final.

___