Corrigan-Camden ISD unveiled their new athletic facility and fieldhouse Wednesday to a crowd of a few hundred interested visitors.
The complex includes a new gymnasium, weight room, locker rooms, coaches’ offices, film room, laundry room and trainer’s area.
“All of our athletic facilities have been touched in dramatic fashion, and we are really hoping you see this,” district superintendent Brian Aiken announced in front of the building, readying for a ribbon cutting. “There is still a lot of work to do, but we are making good progress. This facility behind me was just released to us in the last few days. It was kind of a short turnaround. Our athletes are anxious to be able to go in to use the facility. It is still under construction, and we are about 95% done. Most of it is ready to go.
“I do want to personally thank, on behalf of the school district, our community for supporting these projects. I want to thank the school board for standing behind it, and I want to thank the city for helping us get the permitting and being cooperative throughout the process.”
Berry & Clay provided the construction while GLS was the architect on the project.
“We are so excited to be able to get into these brand-new facilities,” athletic director Brett Ratliff said. “Our vision and mission when we were designing and talking through with the architects and everyone that was involved in this awesome process about what we wanted here – first and foremost, we wanted to make sure that every single athlete and student in Corrigan Camden ISD can utilize this facility. I want you to understand that we are going to have junior high P.E. in that new auxiliary gym. We are going to have all athletes in this new weight room we are going to have all our athletes learning how to properly do film study in our media room.
“This isn't for one particular group or anything. This is a unified facility and fieldhouse. We are so excited to be in here and we wanted to jump into the 21st century with our athletes. We wanted to provide them with a state-of-the-art weight room, media room, and something they could be proud of.”
Ratliff, a former student at Corrigan-Camden, can relate to what the athletes are going through. The “old” fieldhouse was constructed while he was in junior high.
“In 1994, when that building was built and I got in there as a seventh grader, it was the most amazing feeling in the world, and I can promise you that there were championships won there. There are blood, sweat and tears there. We are going to honor that in here from the time that we walk in the door to the time we walk out the door that makes this one the old fieldhouse. I promise, we are going to give everything we've got every single day to create the best possible program here at Corrigan-Camden ISD.”
