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Eastern Schools just stepped into the future. Its $20 million fieldhouse opened for use this week, providing students with new practice and competition areas for nearly every sport the school offers.

Eastern Superintendent Dr. Keith Richie was on-hand Feb. 24 to welcome the community during an open house for the facility. He is excited for the possibilities the fieldhouse offers.

“We are the last school corporation in Howard County to have a fieldhouse,” said Richie. “We still had kids coming in here for basketball practice at 9 p.m. Our goal was to get the kids home earlier so they can have dinner, get their homework done.

“Also, this is a multi-purpose facility. It can be used for baseball. The football team no longer has to stand out in the rain to practice. We have more room now for physical education. It was something that we needed.”

The fieldhouse proper houses a multi-purpose floor marked for three basketball courts or volleyball courts as well as an indoor running track. Concession stands and seating line the western side of the facility, and the school’s newly refurbished swimming pool shares access to those features.

The original pool was constructed in 1967, and maintenance costs were mounting to keep the facility operational. The new facility is state of the art, Richie explained.

“The pool was in this area before, but it was taken out and extended it to make it regulation size,” said Richie. “Everything is new: the tile, the walls, the ceiling. And we have a viewing area now, so we can get the fans off the floor.

“Next year, we are hosting the conference in swimming. The bleachers up here rotate so if there is something going on in the pool, they can watch it.”

The school corporation broke ground on the fieldhouse in March 2022. Less than a year later, it is ready for use.

“We haven’t even been a full year, and they turned the keys over to us,” said Richie. “It’s remarkable, given the supply chain challenges. I don’t know how (general contractor) Hagerman did it, but they are pretty good. Everything worked out.”

The fieldhouse project cost the corporation $20 million. That price tag includes the fieldhouse and pool, as well as new tennis courts, a concessions building, locker room, and equipment storage, a new parking lot, soccer fields, and a new baseball diamond complex. Some of these features are still under development.

“We spent $20 million without raising taxes on anybody,” said Richie. “We paid down our (debt), and that money rolled over so we could use it for this project. We’ll be making the same payments we have been, but now we have more facility.”

With everything else in place, the new fieldhouse is just missing one thing: a name.

“Maybe someone will come along and want to throw some money at us to name the facility,” said Richie. “Who knows? If it means that I can finish the rest of the project, we would be willing to do that.”