Here’s how Harris County will spend $6.4 million to update its athletic facilities
Harris County School District’s athletic facilities will undergo a major facelift as part of a multimillion-dollar project, the district announced Tuesday.
The renovations, which are set to start this fall, will take place in two phases: The first phase will focus on the football stadium. The proposed second phase would include an indoor athletic facility.
“These facility upgrades will not only benefit the Harris County School District but also the Harris County community at large,” Justin Finney, assistant superintendent of business services and technology, said in a news release.
The estimated cost for phase one of the project, according to HCSD, is $6.4 million. The initial design has already been approved by the Harris County Board of Education and is underway. Southern Architects & Engineer of Austell, Georgia, was selected as the architectural firm.
Upgrades to the football stadium included in phase one are:
- 4,110 new seats
- A new decorative entrance and fencing
- Concessions and restrooms in a large concourse under the grandstands
- A new press box with covered wings
- New LED lighting for the stadium and field
- 350 additional parking spaces
- Improved traffic entrances in front of Harris County High School on Ga. Hwy. 116.
“We hope to break ground after football season in November 2021,” Finney said. “The estimated completion will be just in time for the football season of August 2022.”
The proposed second phase includes a multi-sport 40,000-square foot indoor athletic facility for boys’ and girls’ teams. It will include:
- Four locker rooms
- A new weight room
- A 40-yard indoor turf practice field
- Additional parking.
The second phase also includes a new tennis court complex. The current tennis courts are not suitable to host GHSA competitions, the school district said.
The proposed tennis facility would be located at the Harris County Community Center on Ga. Hwy. 116 and would be accessible to the school district’s athletic programs and to the public. The proposed project includes eight lighted tennis courts.
“The athletic facilities at Harris County High School are more than 25 years old and were built when Harris County High School was a Class 2A school,” Finney said. “Based on the growing population, the high school is on the verge of becoming a Class 6A school and these athletic facilities need upgrading to match.”
Who’s paying for the upgrades?
HCSD has already accumulated the funds for phase one through “sound fiscal management,” spokesperson Rachel Crumbley told the Ledger-Enquirer. Phase two is not yet funded.
The district has approached the Harris County Public Improvement Authority asking it to issue intergovernmental bonds to fund the phase two projects. The Harris County School District would be solely responsible to service the bond debt with the HCPIA. The Harris County Government would have no liability or responsibility to pay back the bonds, according to HCSD.
HCSD, which rolled back the millage rate in 2019, does not anticipate an increase of property tax millage rate to service this debt.
If approved by the HCPIA, the district plans to pay for the bonds using Education Special Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST) funds from the one-cent sales tax, which was approved by voters in November 2019.
The timeline for construction of phase two is to be determined, the district says, based on the approval of the bonds by the HCPIA.
