By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
There was more to celebrate than a new athletic field during a groundbreaking ceremony for Dayton Independent Schools on Monday. A field house will also be built on property between Dayton High School and Lincoln Elementary School.
Ron Kinmon, director of student services for the school district, made that announcement during Monday afternoon’s ceremony. Banners showing architectural drawings of both the field house and athletic field were then unveiled on fencing around the excavated property.
Kinmon said the project is expected to be completed in 14 months and the total cost will be close to $15 million. He said $2.5 million has already been spent acquiring the property and demolishing buildings that were once there.
“This project is for all of our students and our community,” Kinmon told the crowd. “When you see these pictures on these banners along this fence, you’re going to see more than just a football field. You’re going to see the center of our community … that’s going to make everyone in the city proud.”
The synthetic turf field will be used for football and soccer games and practices as well as physical education classes. The field house will provide indoor practice areas, including batting cages for baseball and softball. There will also be a fitness center that can be used by team members and other students.
Jay Brewer, superintendent for Dayton Independent Schools, said having an athletic field and field house on campus will fulfill a vision that began 40 years ago when the current Dayton High School building was completed.
At that time, there was no vacant property between the high school and elementary school. It took years for school board members to acquire that property. Demolition of the buildings that were once there began last summer.
“We’ve had people say, ‘Is this all necessary,'” Brewer said. “Well, you go to other school districts and they have all this, and we don’t. Our kids deserve it too.”
One of the high school faculty members watching Monday’s groundbreaking was Dayton head football coach Jesse Herbst, a 1990 graduate and former player.
“This is a game-changer,” he said. “We’re going to have facilities here that we’ve never had before. These are facilities that our kids deserve, our kids need, and our community needs.”
Herbst said his football players were excited when they found out about the new athletic field. The addition of the field house should appeal to them, and other students, even more.
“What this is good for is just getting kids to come out and play,” Herbst said. “There’s athletes everywhere around here, but a lot of times you have to drag kids out of the hallways because they don’t know what we do. Now we’ll be pretty much out in the open on campus and we’ll get more kids to come out (for teams).”
Another former Dayton football player at the ceremony on Monday was Buddy Dittus, a 1965 graduate.
“This is a thing whose time has come for the kids and the community,” Dittus said.
“They’re going to have a first-class facility down here and Jay has worked so hard to develop something that everyone can have pride in. It’ll be a thrill to come down and watch them play.”
Dittus is a high school track official so he was disappointed that there was not enough space for a full-sized track around the new athletic field. But the Greendevils never had a track around O.W. Davis Field either.
Davis Field was built during the 1930s near the original high school building. When the new high school building opened in 1983, it was more than a mile away from the home field.
Brewer said Davis Field is the oldest high school football field in Kentucky that’s still being used for varsity games. No plans have been made for the historic athletic facility after its final season this fall.