Why the Track and Football Field and What’s next?
By Kevin Sims
Minco Public Schools Superintendent
As you know we are running a bond election for November 14th, 2023. This measure will provide Minco with a brand new state of the art track and field as well as needed football facilities. This is the first phase of a two phased project. It will take the two phases of construction to meet our needs. There is no way around that. With the costs of construction in 2023, we cannot reasonably build all we want to build. In essence, we have moved from project construction to construction in phases due to affordability for the school district.
This phase one originally included the track and field as well as a new weight room along with an Agricultural Education Show Barn. The last show barn constructed was in 2000. When our plan was developed, it was sent to the construction company, and the cost was too much. We changed the scope by taking out the large weight room and cutting back on the show barn. The construction cost numbers came back in round two of budgeting were still too much, and the decision had to be made to take the show barn out of the project. This was not what we had anticipated, but this is what happened. We have to keep the cost of the project reasonable for the district.
We have over 100 students that compete in track and field. It is one of our most successful sports at Minco. Those children who participate in track need their own facility. The site of the present football field does not present an adequate place for an Eight (8) Lane Track that is regulation size. We also have the desire to make our location on Hwy 81 and Sager Road “THE CAMPUS” of Minco High and Middle School. In regards to track, we want to be able to host track meets that can and do bring in hundreds of spectators. We also expect to be an OSSAA Regional track meet site due to our central location. To draw the fans and family members you have to have adequate seating and lighting. With that being said, adding the football field and facility to this project makes all the sense in the world. It's the next logical step in building the campus. Track and a football field go hand in hand in this case. We meet two major needs for a track and new football facility with this bond. Our seating capacity will increase by 500 from the present structure, and will provide 1700 actual seats in the new stadium.
What's Next? As discussed several times, The Rumble Solar Project slated for late 2025 or early 2026 will bring an enormous boost to our valuation as a district. This will allow us to build an even better show barn than what we had designed, we will be able to build a softball/baseball complex on the campus, and we are wanting to build an early childhood center in this phase. We would love to do all of this with the November 2023 bond, but it's not just a feasible option. This school board and myself want the best for our students and programs. We have worked hard in the last decade to change the face of Minco Public Schools facilities. We will not budge on this. In the next decade you will see more significant change for our children and future generations. The future is being unleashed in Minco.