--- million-dollar facilities aimed to improve Wildcats’ quality at the highest level
For many years, Dwaine C. Bell Stadium has been one of the most visible landmarks of Lawrence North. The stadium is home for the Wildcat football and track teams, as well as the host for many school and community events in Lawrence Township.
And there is one problem: it is very old. “Like any 40 years old structure, there is a lot of things that need to be done in term of maintenance,” LN athletic director Mike Penrose said. It was built in 1976 for a school of 1.500 students; today, the school has indeed grown much than forty years ago. “We are long overdue for facility upgrades at the stadium,” said Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township athletic director Dr Grant Nesbit.
The district has announced a major renovation plan for the stadium and surrounding athletic facilities as part of its Blue Ribbon Facility Plan; a multi-year, million-dollar facility upgrade program aimed to improve infrastructures of Lawrence Township schools. All schools at Lawrence Township had saw major renovation of their facilities since the project kicked off in 2015.
The renovation for LN football stadium itself would begin as soon as the football season ends in November and scheduled to be done by spring next year, after being delayed for two months due to permitting issues. “We did have some delays on permitting,” Dr Nesbit said, “You will see that Lawrence Central is ahead of Lawrence North. The LC permits went through the City of Lawrence and the LN permits went through (City of) Indianapolis. The latter just took longer.”
One of the most significant change would be construction of a new multi-purpose building, located at the southern end zone of the stadium. The proposed building will include a large locker room, hospitality room, team conference room, modern training facility, office spaces for coaches and officials, as well as additional storage and support facilities.
New restrooms and concession buildings will be added, as well as new entrance system and fencing with better access for home and visitor side. “There is a safety issue (with current entrance system) because you have a kind of bottleneck in term of traffic,” Penrose said. Visitors entrance will be concentrated at south side of the stadium. “We are always concerned with how people come and go.”
And finally, there is bleachers: the old concrete grandstand at the home side will be demolished, paving way for new aluminium bleachers equipped with press box. “We have a lot more people who want to to use the press box, like radio and TV,” Penrose argued. The visitors’ side will be renovated to comply with handicapped accessibility rules.
In Master Facility Plan released on May 2015, the district allocated a total of $91.9 million for the five-year plan; $10.8 million goes to Lawrence North and $4.7 million will be spent for the stadium renovation. The sole source of funding is from general obligation bonds; for 2016, three $10 million bonds are issued to fund ten different projects at four schools and other district facilities. “That's important for people to know: we did this construction without asking the taxpayers for more money,” said Nesbit via an e-mailed response.
Ed Martin Automotive Group, a long-time supporter of Lawrence Township schools, won naming rights for the new stadium in exchange of $500,000 gift which was approved by school board meeting on late August. “The board put a Request for Proposal so that any entity interested in naming rights would have the opportunity to secure them,” Nesbit claims, “Ed Martin is a long-time supporter of the school district and came with the best proposal.”
As part of the deal, they captured naming rights for another stadium renovation project at Lawrence Central; previously, the group had sponsored the Automotive Service Program at McKenzie. Despite being started earlier, naming rights at LC will not officially begin until next year due to the school’s contract commitment with previous naming right contract held by another car dealership, Ray Skillman.
Asked about how important this project for the district as whole, Dr Nesbit responded firmly. “We consider it very important. On top of that, it's a visible feature on campus that is visited by the general public. We want excellence for our students and believe that's what we're getting out of this project.”
The school itself hopes to use this project to accommodate more sporting talents and improve the Wildcats’ luck. “We want to make the student athletes play comfortably and safely, so we can continue to have the success on and off the field, that we were accustomed to,” Penrose said, “in order to compete at the highest level, with the best student athletes around the state, you’ve got to be able to provide the best facility.”
The edited version of this story was published by LN North Star in its 30 September 2016 issue.
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