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A long time coming. Construction to begin on ‘The Coop’ sports complex in Gainesville
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Longtime city parks director Melvin Cooper, center, is greeted Thursday, June 9, 2022, by friend and former colleagues during a Gainesville Parks and Recreation groundbreaking ceremony at the future site of the J. Melvin Cooper Youth Athletic Complex also known as "The Coop". - photo by Scott Rogers
A dream 24 years in the making is finally coming true. Gainesville officials broke ground Thursday, June 9, on the J. Melvin Cooper Youth Sports Complex, also dubbed “The Coop,” which will have five ballfields and a multi-purpose rectangular field.