A small crowd gathered at the campus of North Oconee High School Sunday, eager to be among the first to tour the school's new two-story athletic field house.

Attendees of the ribbon cutting included Oconee County Board of Education members, former Superintendent John Jackson, school officials, the current and former Titan Club presidents and parents and students.

The nearly $3 million project was funded by the education special-purpose, local-option sales tax (ESPLOST), and Kevin Price Construction served as the General Manager.  It took about six months to complete.

NOHS Principal Philip Brown said the facility will serve many purposes.

"This facility is something that's going to benefit so many of our student athletes and so many of our students, just because this facility isn't only an athletic field house," he explained. "We can use this facility -- as you walk through you're going to see -- for a number of different things.  Whether that's AP testing...whether that is a district-wide training for some teachers in our district to come together and do some things."  It will also be used for sports teams' banquets, he said.

Event-goers were treated to a reception of chocolate-covered strawberries, sports-themed cookies and cake in celebration of Brown's birthday, which was also Sunday.

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