CHS athletic complex plan takes shape

Phase 1 to begin in June

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Crete High School will see a chain of upgrades and new facilities over the coming years with the Crete Board of Education’s new athletic complex design partnership with Mammoth Athletic Construction. 

The initial project plan, proposed to the board earlier this month, includes $2 million in upgrades to the CHS athletic facilities by September 2025. The project, broken up into three phases, will begin with Phase 1 this year, with Phases 2 and 3 to be added in coming years. 

Dr. Josh McDowell, superintendent of Crete Public Schools, said the project will be a great way to unite students, families and communities. 

“I want the community to be excited about what this can be,” McDowell said. “It's an opportunity to bring the community together around a facility and a space for everybody to use, and I think it just greatly enhances our kids' experience in Crete.”

Phase 1, which is set to begin in June of 2025, will add 1600-person bleachers into the hill by the football field, a press box, stadium lighting, track striping, a scoreboard, sidewalks and a 190-spot gravel parking lot behind the tennis courts. 

The project is more than four years in the making, McDowell said. The board looked into upgrades a few years ago, but couldn’t get on board with the cost estimate and decided to keep the project in their back pocket, McDowell said.

Now, with the right cost and partner, they are ready to start. 

“It's been a long process, but it's been the right process,” McDowell said. “This isn't something that the board jumped into, it's been on the agenda for four-plus years now.”

The project’s cost estimates lay around $2 million for Phase 1, $3 million for Phase 2, and $2-3.5 million for Phase 3. McDowell said he feels confident the price of the project will remain in the projected range and hopes to come in under budget. 

As for Phase 2 and 3, which would add upgrades to the tennis courts, home locker rooms, concessions, restrooms, a community pavilion, an indoor multipurpose facility and a baseball field, McDowell said those plans are in the back pocket – for now. 

The board is looking into starting a capitol campaign and open to getting community sponsors for the project to help fund it and speed up the process. McDowell said the board is prioritizing keeping the property tax levy where it is over speeding up the project. 

“The board and I are committed to doing it fiscally responsible,” McDowell said. “We're doing everything that we can to keep the levy, utilize the building fund and then explore other options, like a capital campaign, just honoring and being respectful of taxpayer dollars.”

McDowell said the project opens doors for CHS to be able to host and compete in their facilities. 

CPS will continue their partnership with Doane University despite the upgrades, McDowell said. 

“These upgrades will really allow for some flexibility in scheduling and for us to be able to host many of our lower level stuff,” McDowell said. “But we don't want to let go of that partnership with Doane, they've been great partners.”

McDowell said he hopes to involve high school students in the project management and facility upkeep through the various career pathways.

“Our kids can certainly have their fingerprints on it,” McDowell said. “It can be a facility that's useful as an educational tool for them, outside of just Athletics and Activities.”

Mammoth is committed to working with community contractors as they go out for bidding for the project, McDowell said. 

“Their willingness to work with local contractors where appropriate, just incredible,” McDowell said. “It's all they do. So when it's all they do, the pricing that they can get on all of the things will be better than had we gone a with a traditional general contractor design experience.” 

McDowell said he and the board agreed the improvements are part of building pride at CHS.

“We want our kids to be proud of where they go to school, and a piece of that is the facilities,” McDowell said. “As we continue to grow, a place they can call home is meaningful. I want not only our kids and our staff, but our community be proud of the facilities that we have for our kids to participate on.”