Norwalk breaks ground on fieldhouse

The timing felt right. On a beautiful summer night, Norwalk High School held its mandatory OHSAA fall sports meeting for athletes who will start practices for their respective teams as early as Saturday. But instead of the basic meeting being held inside the NHS gymnasium for 15-plus minutes, there was an added bonus at the end. Behind NHS, various school and local officials held a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the start of construction on the Reagan Fieldhouse. The project is an expansion of the current Reagan All-Sports Complex and will have 65 yards in width and 45 yards in length of new artificial turf in the fieldhouse. "It was a good kickoff to an exciting project that will change the way we are able to do things here," NHS athletic director Josh Schlotterer said. "And not just for the high school, but all grades with the new elementary building going in across the street. Those kids will have easier access as well." The current complex features a weight room and a small turf area. With the expansion, it opens the door for NHS athletes and beyond to have the ability to practice or train. Schlotterer recently went to Liberty-Benton and got a look at their fieldhouse, which cost $1.5 million and is 50x50 yards of turf. He also cited the indoor facility at T3 Performance in Avon. "Those facilities get used all the time with youth events, so it's exciting to think about the different things it will open up because in Ohio for half the year, the weather is tough," he said. "I know at T3 they are able to do youth flag football, soccer, and even baseball scrimmages in the winter. "So it won't be the exact same, obviously, but it's going to set us apart in a way that no area school will have what we have," he added. "It will bring those types of things that we can do for the students across the district and in the community." The fieldhouse is being made possible through private funding. The project has raised $1.75 million as of the groundbreaking, which was enough to fully fund the construction of the fieldhouse. That will be done by local lead contractor Janotta & Herner. The Norwalk Athletic Boosters raised $1 million, and major donations came from Bill and Julia Reagan ($500,000) and Steve and Nancy Gfell ($100,000). Schlotterer said the project still needs to raise $130,000 to cover the cost of field turf and netting. Construction is starting now to lock in current costs, as estimations beyond 2026 will increase. "If we didn't start now, costs were going to rise, so it felt like the most responsible time," Schlotterer said. "We're going to be doing some reverse raffles in the fall and other fundraising opportunities with hopes of bringing in around $25,000 from each one. "Our goal is to have this fully funded by December so the turf can be installed as soon as the fieldhouse is complete." Schlotterer noted the various projects the athletic boosters have helped with in recent years under the leadership of Shelly Wybensinger. They included the renovation of Contractors Stadium ($250,000), the renovation and addition of tennis courts ($250,000) at the Middle School, scoreboards for the baseball and softball fields ($30,000), and the all-weather track surface at Contractors Stadium ($25,000). There had been consideration of installing turf at the baseball and softball fields. "We want big projects, and this will change a lot of things," Schlotterer said. "Obviously that starts with a great boosters program to generate that kind of money. Shelly has been awesome with helping us out with whatever we need. "We talked about baseball and softball turf, and for me as an AD, that would have been a lot nicer with the weather, but it would have been a small group of kids that got to use it," he added. "Not that they're not important, but they will be able to use this all year round as well with all of our athletes." The current Reagan Complex is 12,500 square feet. The expansion will make it 34,375 square feet. On top of athletic teams and cheerleading, physical education classes and the marching band are among the programs that can benefit. Initially, talks centered around having turf go the full length of a football field (100 yards). But the project landed on 65 yards of width and 45 yards of length with a higher-arched ceiling. "We looked at what is the biggest space to help all our kids," Schlotterer said. "It's not quite a full soccer field, but it's close. The baseball and softball teams can get a full infield in that they can't even do in our gym, and they're not going to be waiting for basketball practice to end." In the spring, several NHS football players attended a Cleveland Browns minicamp practice at the team's training facility in Berea. Schlotterer also noted their field wasn't 100 yards in length. Locally, there are other indoor facilities like Bellevue and Edison, among others. High school athletics has become a numbers game in more than just on the competitive fields and courts. "It has changed so much," Schlotterer said. "Kids are transferring more and going the open enrollment route at other schools, and we want to sell the families in our district on having among the best, like this beautiful facility. "This will set us apart in this area and showcase what we have. We want our kids to have extra incentive to train. There's no excuse not to work in there. We want to bring more people in — not in a recruiting aspect, but more of, this is why you want to be in Norwalk. To have this beautiful place to work year-round."