Neighborhood residences opposed construction plans by the 48-year-old school in 2002 when four houses were scheduled for demolition. On the previous project, Arthur Blank, owner of the Atlanta Falcons National Football League team, and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation had planned to fund the track component of the project which would have been named after his father, Max Blank. However, the newly planned complex will not be associated with Blank or the Blank Family Foundation, sources familiar with the project tell GlobeSt.com.

The complex will have fields for football, soccer, lacrosse, baseball, a 2,600-seat stadium, 27,000-sf field house, indoor practice facility and parking for 450 vehicles. Pace Academy has 940 students in three schools from elementary to high school. The sports complex will be on Riverview Road near Interstate 285.

The school plans to launch a fund-raising campaign in fall 2007 to pay for the sports campus at about the same time the first athletic field will have been completed. The campaign will be the largest capital project ever organized by Pace, according to school officials. Pace also could generate revenue by licensing the new facility's fields and leasing the space to other private schools and independent sports leagues, say observers familiar with the project.