Edison Schools' field house nearing completion

MILAN— In roughly a month, Edison Schools will unveil its new athletic facility.Though construction is about two to three weeks behind, the 15,000 square-foot field house is slated to be finished in September, according to athletic director Tom Jeffrey. With a $250,000 sponsorship by Firelands Regional Medical Center, officials broke ground behind Edison High School in May."It's moving along," Jeffrey said. "It's a little behind because of a wet spring, but we're going forward. We're about a month to a month and half away from completion."The building still needs electric wiring, plumbing, and a stone base for its turf field. Its steel frame is up, the roof is almost done and crews are more than halfway finished erecting its walls.The indoor practice facility is an addition to the district's existing field house and features a 50-yard by 30-yard turf field.Other details of the project include: relocating the district's home locker rooms, updating the existing locker rooms, improving storage space, adding new offices for coaches and constructing a mezzanine space and outdoor deck, with visibility overseeing the track and football field.The hospital's gift includes naming rights with $250,000 to athletic organization for athletic building will be paid over a period of five years.The new field house will cost about $500,000 total, according to a committee leading the fundraising efforts. The remaining $250,000 will be donated by the Edison Athletic Boosters and other community donors to be named at a later time.But since the facility's ground-breaking, the district received multiple donations for labor and materials to offset the cost of the project in up-front pledges or donations over a five-year period, Jeffrey said.Upcoming projectsFirelands Regional Medical Center kicked off the first phase of Edison High School's facility improvement project, a project two years in the making.A subcommittee of the Edison Athletic Boosters, dubbed the Edison Community Facilities Team, mapped out the plan after assessing the district's needs and gathering input from employees, community members and coaches.The team believes the high school's science wing is outdated, and the district lacks adequate indoor practice space for its extracurricular activities, as well as the Edison Youth Sports League.Other planned projects for Edison High School, totaling about $2.25 million, include:• Constructing a 9,400-square-foot auxiliary gymnasium, at a cost of $1 million.• Constructing a 4,200-square-foot wrestling and multipurpose room, at a cost of $500,000.• Renovating the science department, to increase classroom, lab and storage space, impacting a 6,000-square-foot area at an estimated cost of $750,000 to $800,000.Edison Schools is still trying to fundraise for the auxiliary gym and improvement other projects and won't break ground until all needed funds are received."For all the remaining phases, we're still trying to finance all of those," said Edison Schools superintendent Tom Roth. "The district is contributing to the science part, but the rest is (through) donations. We don't want to start something that can't be finished."Edison Schools already plans to use $225,000 from its annual permanent improvement fund — an account designated specifically for repairs and maintenance — toward the science department project, once more donations are received. The goal is to add state-of-the-art equipment to the space, to help students explore more opportunities in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and math.At this time, the Edison Community Facilities Team is seeking additional naming rights sponsors and other community donations to cover the remaining costs of the three projects."The committee has talked to a few groups and companies (for naming rights and sponsors), but they've received no solid answer yet," Roth said.Want to donate?• To download pledge forms and donate to the Edison Schools facility improvement project, go to edisonchargers.org.• To learn more about the plans or ask questions, email athleticboosters@edisonchargers.org.Reach reporter Caitlin Nearhood can be reached at nearhood@sanduskyregister.com and follow her on Twitter @CaitlinNearhoodConstruction of Edison's athletic building continues behind the high school Thursday afternoon. It may be completed by late September.Construction of Edison's athletic building continues behind the high school Thursday afternoon. It may be completed by late September.Construction of Edison's athletic building continues behind the high school Thursday afternoon. It may be completed by late September.