ROBERTSDALE — The never-ending arms race in athletics has trickled its way down to the high school ranks in recent years, as programs across the nation are competing with one another to boast the best facilities and resources for their athletes.

That certainly applies to Baldwin County, with Gulf Shores and Orange Beach serving as prime examples following their completion of extensive renovations in recent years.

And from Spanish Fort to Elberta and everywhere in between, schools are looking to attain that next advancement that can help propel them to on-field success.

The latest product of this trend can be found in Robertsdale. The city met with the Baldwin County Public Schools Board of Education on July 14 and agreed to a land donation that will be home to the Golden Bears' new football stadium.

Set to be located at 18815 Fairground Road, the renovations will feature the stadium, a track, practice fields and additional areas for parking. Those endeavors are valued at over approximately $12 million, and the school also intends to update its fieldhouse for an additional $1.5 million.

The new turf field will be encircled by a modern track, and the home grandstands will feature roughly 3,000 seats while the visitors' bleachers will contain roughly 1,500 spectators.

Robertsdale's side of the stadium is set to house a building dedicated exclusively to concessions as well as a pair of standalone restroom facilities. The Golden Bears' opponents will have their own structure that features both concessions and restrooms.

Meanwhile, the current field house will remain in its current spot but will be renovated to add additional offices, restrooms and areas for players to congregate.

"The advocacy for this has gone on for 34 years, whether it was from band or athletic boosters and even coaches talking about it," Robertsdale Mayor Ruthie Campbell said. "So we've just finally come to a point when the time is right and the leadership was right with the city and board of education together."

As Campbell alluded to, getting these plans off the ground required plenty of patience.

Robertsdale's current high school building was constructed roughly 34 years ago, moving the older students away from the elementary campus that is just over five minutes away.

But while the then-new facility was certainly an improvement, it did not feature an on-campus stadium, which has prompted the Golden Bears to make the short trek to J.D. Sellars Stadium for each home contest for decades.

It isn't a lengthy journey, but the effort required to transport players, cheerleaders, band members and all of their needed equipment takes a small army of volunteers to execute. After all, with roughly 200 students making up one of the larger bands in the county, there are plenty of tubas and trombones to be shuttled back and forth.

"So for 34 years, it's been a struggle to load everything up and take it over there," Campbell said. "Everybody has to come together to make that happen, so it's been a long time waiting for this stadium."

Tony Myrick, the District 3 representative within the board of education, has also played a large role in securing this deal. He explained that past officials had eyed the property for years and the school knew what it wanted to do with it, but it just had to wait on agreements with the city.

"The land was purchased several years ago with the intent of building an on-campus stadium because our current one is outdated and in need of plenty of repairs," Myrick said. "It took us a while to get the transfer set up with the city, but we had the money set aside already."

The new stadium is set to be built right behind the current high school, underneath the "Go Bears" water tower and next to Robertsdale's football practice field and baseball stadium.

With the approval process behind them, Myrick & Co. are now mapping out a rough timeline for the construction process.

The city is set to officially donate the property by Aug. 15, which will put the school board in full control of the land. Representatives from the state level will then visit to inspect and provide their approval.

The real work will begin from there, as the involved parties will then look to accept bids for construction no later than January. Nearly all costs and expenses will fall on the school board, with the exception of a $500,000 contribution from the city that is dedicated solely to construction efforts.

"The MOU [memorandum of understanding] allows us to begin designing and working out all of those details," Robertsdale City Engineer Evan Davis said. "It's up to the board of education, but the goal is to start construction at some point this upcoming spring."

A tentative date for completion has been set for Aug. 15, 2029, with the school board eyeing a one-and-a-half to two-year timeline from start to finish.

"Once we start, it'll just be one phase after the other until the stadium is finished," Myrick said.

Another aspect of this endeavor that locals may be wondering about is how construction will impact the surrounding areas during that time span. Davis said he anticipates there being little effect on the public.

"The city has already done a great deal of road improvements on Fairground Road leading into the stadium, so hopefully there won't be many lane closures," Davis said. "There may be some utility issues and temporary closures, but I don't foresee anything long-term. Construction will mainly impact parts of the school and parking lot."

Once complete, the venue won't just host football games. The school plans to play its soccer contests on the new field as well, and the Golden Bears' sizable band will also use it for practices and other events.

Myrick even added that the school could look into hosting more state-level competitions with the addition of the track, and the door is open for the city to host events there as well.

"This is going to be first-class, and it'll be huge for the kids," Myrick said. "It'll be one of the finest stadiums in the county, and it's been a long time coming with plenty of people that have played a part."

With long grass, bushes and weeds currently occupying the future site, Campbell has aptly titled the land as Robertsdale's own "Field of Dreams," a nod to the famed baseball movie.

So stay tuned for the fall of 2029, when the Golden Bears will begin welcoming visitors to their new den and retired principal Paul Hollingsworth's chants of "Go Bears" will ring out louder than ever before.