SC Pool & Fieldhouse Grand Opening :::
For Release: August 4, 2006
LT set to open new South Campus pool and fieldhouse
Join Lyons Township High School at the official grand opening of the new South Campus pool and fieldhouse Monday, August 14, at 7pm, 4900 S. Willow Springs Rd., Western Springs.
Divers, swimmers, water polo players, and even a kayak or two will christen the pool at the opening festivities, while LT soccer players will showcase the fieldhouse. All who attend may tour the pool and its locker rooms and offices, as well as the state-of-the-art fieldhouse.
The district broke ground on these facilities spring 2005. Good weather and good planning coincided to create top notch facilities that will serve not only the school but the community as well. The new pool and fieldhouse will increase curricular and co-curricular offerings. The physical education program will expand to include swimming lessons for all freshmen and sophomores as well as broaden its variety of activities. The fieldhouse will allow athletes to practice indoors during inclement weather and provide a place for all-school assemblies.
The pool has six double-length lanes, a movable bulk head, and two diving boards. This design allows for 12 lanes of activities, with deep water for competitions, diving, water polo and other aquatic classes. The flexible space may be utilized by multiple groups at different swimming abilities performing a variety of uses. Ample deck areas and spectator seating for approximately 500 have been built into the design.
The 42,000 square-foot fieldhouse includes a running track (10 laps to a mile) with flexible space for indoor soccer, volleyball, badminton, baseball, golf and other programs. Drop curtains allow for a variety of programs and simultaneous use.
“There is a huge demand for indoor recreational facilities; indoor space is at a premium in the western suburbs. The new South Campus facilities will offer everyone from preschoolers to senior citizens new recreational opportunities while helping to meet a great community need,” said Superintendent Dr. Dennis Kelly.
Board member and Chairman of the Facilities Committee Jim Kohlstedt said, “The LTHS Board of Education spent more than two years planning for these facilities, and that planning has paid off. More than bricks and mortar, the pool and fieldhouse are state-of-the-art facilities ripe with opportunities for our students and members of our communities both during and after school.”
Board President Mark Pera said, “Opening the pool and fieldhouse is the final installment of a multi-year capital improvement process. These facilities will be used by generations to come and cement LT as one of the finest high schools with some of the finest facilities in the state.”
The pool and fieldhouse are major components of LT’s Capital Improvement Program, which was funded through a nearly $20 million in Limited Tax Bonds to be repaid over 10 years, without an increase in homeowner taxes. By issuing limited tax bonds, LT continued a cycle of obtaining funds for building improvements and remodeling, while keeping the same annual payments for debt service as in the past. For decades, this cycle has allowed LT to accomplish important, large-scale projects without increasing the total tax rate.