n the next step of the District 225’s 10-year plan to renovate district facilities, the John Davis Stadium is being renovated and expanded after the conclusion of all fall sports, Superintendent Dr. R.J. Gravel said.

The home bleachers will be completely rebuilt and have finished rooms underneath for people to use, Gravel said. The home concession stand will be made wider to connect to the bleachers, and the bathrooms will be expanded to accommodate the larger capacity of the stadium bleachers, Gravel said. Concrete sidewalks will be added to create a sitting area, Gravel also said.

“We are looking to do a groundbreaking this winter to provide an opportunity for anyone who would like to come to be part of that,” Gravel said. “We’re looking for some creative ways to allow them to leave their mark.”

There will be several new building additions to the stadium area, including a ticket booth connecting to a concession stand and bathrooms near the front, Gravel said. The location of these buildings will allow usage from other sports fields year-round, such as the baseball and softball teams, Gravel said.

“Now they’ll all be able to benefit from these facilities because they are accessible from both sides of the stadium,” Gravel said.

The press box on top of the bleachers, which is currently a single floor, is being upgraded to two floors, Gravel said. The first floor will be wider and have rooms designated to South’s TV and Broadcasting programs, clock operation, game announcements, and coaching staff of both teams, Gravel said. The second floor will be fully functional for additional videographers, Gravel said.

There will also be amenities such as Wi-Fi throughout the stadium and updated LED lights, which will have multiple colors and will be able to synchronize to music, Gravel said. There will also be a new sound system that can be heard from the visitor side, Gravel explained.

Another change is the replacement of the turf. The current turf is about 13-years-old and past its lifetime, so both the track and the turf field will be completely replaced, Casey Wright, Associate Principal for Operations and Student Experiences, said. The track and field construction will start on April 23, to get a new turf by the start of the following fall sports season, Wright said.

“We’re fortunate to have the resources that we have, and fortunate to be able to improve the facilities in this way,” Wright said.

The architects and designers of the projects brought high-level renderings of the new stadium design to listening sessions held with the Booster Club, and groups of students, coaches, staff members and other people were able to talk with the architects and share their feedback on the initial renderings, Lauren Bonner, Assistant Superintendent of Operations and Student Experiences, said. The architects create new renders throughout each step of the way, refining every small detail until the final design, Bonner said.

“This is such a significant project, and it’s so important,” Bonner said.  “I view this as once in a multi-generation type project.”