Board members for Bellevue Independent Schools approved an $8.4 million project to upgrade Leo Gilligan Field and Ben Flora Gymnasium at their monthly meeting on Wednesday night. The school district will solicit bonds to finance the project. The grass field will have synthetic turf installed by Motz Group of Ohio. The rest of the work on the two facilities will be done by Perkins Carmack Construction of Ohio.
Plans for the 88-year-old stadium include installing a rubberized track, upgrading the tennis courts and building a new concession stand with restrooms. The 52-year-old gym will have its locker rooms, lobby and public restrooms renovated.
“It’s way overdue,” Bellevue superintendent Misty Middleton said of the project scheduled to be completed in August of 2025. (Northern Kentucky Tribune).
West Virginia State University is building a new track and field complex at their campus after the Kanawha County Commission awarded the university $250,000. Kanawha County Commissioner Ben Salango said the money comes from the American Rescue Plan.
“So when West Virginia State University made its application for ARP funding, it was a perfect fit because we can use that money for economic development and sports tourism,” Salango said. University President Ericke Cage said the new complex will cost at least $1.2 million. The university has already raised more than $400,000 from private donors.
“West Virginia State had a strong and proud history in track and field and we believe that it was time to restore the tradition by bringing the team back,” Cage said.
Bryant said he is looking forward to sharing the complex with local middle and high school athletes. (WSAZ3)
In modern-day college athletics, competition goes beyond the field and the court. HBCUs like Houston's Texas Southern University say it's time to level the playing field when competing with the major universities across the region.
That's why they've opened a state-of-the-art 6,000-square-foot strength and conditioning facility, which they believe can help land recruits in a city with some of the state's top high school athletes.
"When you continue to make upgrades to your facility, now you expect your program to improve, now when your program starts improving, now you can compete when you're out there on the recruiting trail," TSU Athletic Director Dr. Kevin Granger said.
The new digs cost $3.5M, and school leaders say it's all part of the investment of building a winning program.
"You're asking the students today to be faster, bigger, stronger, so you actually have to have the facilities for them to workout in," Granger said. (ABC13)
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