Photos by Jonathan Hillyer courtesy of Perkins&Will
Across the United States, high school athletics facilities are undergoing a transformation. What was once considered adequate — a serviceable gym, a grass field, a basic track — is no longer enough. In many parts of the country, athletic spaces represent some of the last remaining civic spaces where communities can come together in a spirit of collective pride.
Few districts embody this shift more vividly than Clayton County Public Schools in metropolitan Atlanta. Guided by the motto “Building a Better Tomorrow, Today,” CCPS has embarked on a series of ambitious projects that prove high school athletics can be far more than a supporting act or a distraction from the classroom.
The district is showing how athletics facilities can uplift entire communities through the new Morrow High School, the soon-to-be-completed Clayton County Student Convocation Center and College & Career Academy, and the under-construction North Clayton High School. These projects are not cookie-cutter gyms and fields; rather, they are purpose-built investments in wellness, equity and civic life. As Ronick Joseph, the district’s chief capital improvement officer, stated when Perkins&Will first started work on Morrow High School, “I’m tired of building red brick boxes.”
A districtwide vision
At first glance, the three projects may appear distinct. One is a high school/county campus, another is a countywide convocation center, and the third is a traditional high school campus with unconventional sports offerings. Together, they represent a coherent vision: athletics as a platform for student success and community advancement.
The district’s approach is notable for its breadth. CCPS is building facilities that range from showcase gyms and weight rooms flooded with natural light to arenas large enough to host statewide tournaments. It is blending athletics with academics, layering in community uses and even introducing sports that few public high schools offer.
This is not simply about keeping up with neighboring counties; it is about setting a new standard for how design can empower students and strengthen communities.
Morrow High School
Completed in 2022, the new Morrow High School exemplifies the shift toward wellness-driven design in school facilities. Connected to the classroom building by a glass-encased bridge, the athletics wing feels less like a separate facility and more like a seamless extension of the school.
Designers intentionally deployed broad swaths of curtain wall to flood the performance and practice courts with daylight, creating an atmosphere closer to a college arena than a high school gym. Above the weight room, an aerobic balcony and an elevated walking track have quickly become favorite destinations for students and staff seeking fitness opportunities outside formal competition. At the top level, a double-sided “supporter’s suite” offers faculty, administrators and community members a flexible gathering space with views into the performance gym on one side and the new county football stadium on the other.
The emphasis on natural light is not just about aesthetics. Daylit spaces support healthy circadian rhythms, reduce energy costs and create an uplifting environment for athletes and spectators alike.
Designed to accommodate more than just the big game, the athletics complex accommodates physical education classes, daily practices, informal recreation and ROTC training in an environment that communicates dignity and pride. By designating the adjacent stadium as a countywide facility,, Morrow and other district students get the opportunity to enjoy the latest and greatest facilities in a district that long battled stereotypes about underfunded and outdated schools. Morrow’s facilities send the message that students here deserve the best.
Clayton County Student Convocation Center, College & Career Academy
If Morrow shows how a high school can raise expectations, the Clayton County Student Convocation Center and College & Career Academy demonstrate how athletics can serve as civic infrastructure.
In 2021, Clayton County Public Schools acquired the former Sears anchor store at Southlake Mall. A long-time retail hub for south Atlanta and Clayton County, it had suffered because of the changes in shopping behavior that impacted malls across the country. Sears closed in 2018 and remained vacant until the school district saw an opportunity to repurpose and revitalize the site. Rather than invest in a greenfield site, the district chose to take advantage of existing infrastructure and parking to reduce development costs. The site also happened to be highly visible from I-75, one of the major north-south arteries that run through metro Atlanta.
Scheduled to open before year’s end, the 8,000-seat facility will be the county’s new graduation hall, giving every high school senior and their family a dignified stage for commencement. But its uses extend far beyond graduation. The building is designed to host college-level athletics, statewide athletics tournaments (basketball, volleyball, wrestling and cheerleading, among others), conventions and even concerts.
Conferencing space at the top of the arena benefits from a green roof and terrace and can be used to host smaller events, such as professional development for teachers and administrators or corporate retreats. With flexible back-of-house support spaces, robust technology and modern amenities, it will become one of the largest gathering venues in the region and one of the only on the historically underrepresented south side of Atlanta.
The facility’s impact is not limited to sports and ceremonies. By housing offices for the Clayton County Chamber of Commerce, it integrates business leadership into the daily life of the district. Students attending classes in the adjacent College & Career Academy will share space — literally and symbolically — with the county’s economic stakeholders. At the lowest level of the College & Career Academy, Junior Achievement of Georgia will provide business education to the community’s youngest students, amplifying the impact of the convocation center on Clayton County’s business environment. As the convocation center nears completion, the new mall owners recognize how the new space is revitalizing the economy of the mall, and they have worked with the district to create a stronger pedestrian connection between the mall retail spaces and the arena.
By bridging education, athletics and commerce, the convocation center helps to position Clayton County as a host for not just its own events, but for regional gatherings that bring visitors, visibility and economic activity.
North Clayton High School
If Morrow is about elevating the everyday and the Convocation Center is about increasing the scale of impact, the new North Clayton High School is about increasing access. The campus, perched atop a wooded hill near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, will offer a suite of athletics facilities rarely seen in public schools.
In addition to the expected football field, track, baseball and softball diamonds, basketball gyms, and a 5K cross-country course, North Clayton will also feature more unique venues, including a three-hole golf course, a putting complex, an on-campus driving range and an indoor turf practice facility.
That choice is more radical than it may sound. Golf is often perceived as an exclusive sport, available only through private clubs or wealthy suburban programs. By integrating golf into the daily life of a public high school and making it accessible to students from across the district, CCPS is making a statement: Every student deserves exposure to a wide range of athletics opportunities, including those historically closed off by cost or access.
The course also provides cross-disciplinary and community value. It is a landscape that doubles as a learning environment. From turf management in career-tech programs to wellness trails and terrain for cross-country runners, the complex expands athletics from a focus on competition to a focus on lifelong physical activity, and it will provide an outdoor venue for a community that lacks accessible green space. As with Morrow’s stadium, the indoor practice facility will serve the entire district — offering an opportunity for a range of athletes to avoid weather impacts by training indoors.
Beyond access to greenspace and golf, the community will also benefit from access to the 3,000-square-foot community clinic that occupies part of the main high school building and has a separate entrance accessible to the public.
The new North Clayton High School presents a model for how investments in public facilities like high schools can be leveraged to address a range of community deficits, including lack of access to specific types of activities, public green space and healthcare.
In Clayton County, athletics facilities are more than venues for games. They are investments in identity, wellness and opportunity. They elevate the daily lives of students while positioning the district as a host for regional gatherings. They provide access to sports — from basketball to golf — that break down barriers and broaden horizons.
The story of Morrow High School, the Convocation Center and North Clayton High School is not just about athletics. It is about how architecture can shape community pride, economic development and student success. In short, it is about building a better tomorrow, today.
Beyond cookie-cutter
High school athletics has long suffered from standardization. Too often, one gym looks like another, one field like the next. Clayton County’s projects prove that design matters — that thoughtful architecture can inspire student-athletes, connect communities and attract regional attention.
These projects are not mere replicas of suburban precedents. They are tailored to their context: a historically under-resourced community stepping forward to claim a new identity. By refusing the cookie-cutter approach, CCPS is modeling a different future for educational facilities — one where athletics is integral to community wellbeing.
• A playbook for the future: What lessons can other districts take from Clayton County’s example?
• Think beyond the scoreboard: Facilities should be designed for daily wellness, not just Friday night competition.
• Engage the community: Shared spaces such as the Convocation Center strengthen bonds between schools and civic life.
• Expand opportunity: Non-traditional sports facilities can democratize access and foster new forms of participation.
• Invest in identity: Architecture communicates values. Facilities that feel dignified and aspirational reinforce the idea that students matter.
