TRAVERSE CITY — Traverse City Area Public Schools is asking for public feedback by the end of this month on the proposed design for a field house on Carlisle Road adjacent to East Middle School.
Superintendent Dr. John VanWagoner said anyone with ideas, comments or concerns about the project that will house the proposed after-school clubhouse and multi-purpose field house should reach out to him.
Although the design and features are yet to be finalized, the proposed design is for a pre-engineered 115,000-square-foot steel structure with a peak ceiling of 60 feet.
The larger field house portion of the building would include a six-lane track, three multi-use fields, batting cages, a portable court and collapsible bleachers. All the spaces have netting included in the plans, allowing for multiple activities to occur in the building at the same time.
The field house will ease congestion issues in gyms and reduce wear-and-tear on flooring and equipment in the schools. It also will allow for large indoor gatherings and year-round practice space.
VanWagoner described the plan for a space for all student activities, including robotics, marching band and other extracurricular activities. Community members have encouraged school officials to reach out to other local music and arts groups as well.
The project will be paid for with bond funds and fundraising, he said. About $9.4 million in 2018 bond funds will be used toward the project, with the remaining costs requiring fundraising.
The bond funds originally had been intended to renovate a donated federal warehouse into an athletic practice space, but the project was later determined not possible because of the condition of the building, VanWagoner said.
Once the plans are set, the cost and fundraising goals can be determined. VanWagoner estimated that the project would end up costing between $17 million and $18 million.
He said he hopes to have final numbers by February and be ready to present the plan to the board in March.
Traverse City Tourism has pledged $1 million: A $500,000 sponsorship upon the facility’s completion, followed by a 10-year annual sponsorship of $50,000. The partnership is tied to the planned hosting of numerous local events for TCAPS students, as well as six large events to attract student athletes from across the state.
“While we’ll have a few tournaments and those kinds of things that financially help us to sustain it, it really is about a place for our kids to be able to go and use year-round,” VanWagoner said.
The district intends on having a full-time facilities director and hourly employees to maintain the facility. Their salary, operation costs and maintenance will be paid for by renting the space out for tournaments and private groups. Six tournaments a year would be enough to pay the bills without taking resources away from the focus of Monday-through-Friday student activities, he said.
Some residents have raised concerns about parking during the proposed large events and traffic along Carlisle Road during tournaments, which could pose a safety concern.
VanWagoner said the smaller parking lot would be meant to reroute traffic away from the field house lot into East Middle School. The plans currently have 75 parking spaces, but VanWagoner said there could be more spaces added in the future if funding and permitting are available.