By AMY JONES / Associate Editor

HOOVER — A local company plans to build a new sports practice facility on Valleydale Road after the new year begins.

On Dec. 17, the Hoover City Council approved a request from RPM Inc. to build the facility adjacent to its existing facility in the basement of the Paradox Building on Little Valley Court off Valleydale Road.

The existing facility is a training facility for athletes, as well as a CrossFit instruction space, according to RPM Inc. co-owner Lance Rhodes.

He said the new training facility will be built in a vacant lot behind the current facility. The new facility will include an 8,000-square-foot building containing training areas for athletes and batting cages for baseball instruction.

Rhodes said there are also plans for a 60-by-40 yard artificial turf field outside the new building. The field will be lit with 35-foot-high pole lights, he said.

The field will be used for training exercises, and will be available to rent out for youth league sports, he said.

Rhodes said he hopes to start construction after the new year begins and to complete construction in time for the summer 2013 season.

The facility exists to offer a single space where people can come to train for different sports instead of having to use several facilities, Rhodes said.

“We kind of bridge (them) together so people can come to one location and get all that in one package,” he said.