FOND DU LAC – Fond du Lac School District students start classes this week, but in as little as a year, back to school will mean upgrades to gym classes and some extracurriculars.
In January, the Fond du Lac School District Board approved a new athletics complex with a turf field costing up to $5.3 million at Fond du Lac High School, benefitting football, track and soccer teams, as well as physical education classes and the marching band.
According to the Aug. 9 school board meeting, Excel Engineering and C.D. Smith have joined the planning team. The stadium project will include new bleachers, lighting upgrades and a structure near the entrance with concessions, restrooms and a store, and is expected to finish by August 2023.
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Fond du Lac is the last district in the Fox Valley Association conference to switch to turf, school board member Linda Usselmann said in January's meeting. Practicing on a turf field would prepare students for the fields they would compete on, she said.
Fruth Field, 72 W. Ninth St., is the district's current field, and was shared with St. Mary's Springs Academy until St. Mary's Springs built its own artificial turf field last year.
The grass field at Fruth is prone to flooding in addition to regular wear and tear from two schools' worth of use.
Fond du Lac High School principal Dave Michalkiewicz, who was previously the school's athletic director and physical education coordinator before his new role this year, anticipates the school's ability to have space on the grounds for games, practices, classes and other activities.
"I look forward to the increase in usage the new field will bring for our students and community," he told The Reporter. "I am also excited for our student body to be able to attend events on campus instead of having to travel through the city to support our students/athletes."
The stadium will replace the grass practice field at the high school, but that's not the only practice field; activities like marching band also utilize yard markings on the parking lot in front of the field.
The marching band practices its annual show in the parking lot during its seven-day summer band camp every August because of how students learn the show, according to music director Chris Barnes.
Each student gets a series of "dots" in the show that they march between to put together the visual display spectators see during competitions and football halftime shows, Barnes said.
They learn the show step by step, and the parking lot helps with the repetitive nature of memorizing the show and syncing it to music.
After camp, practice moves to the grass field, but rain can muddy those plans and make the grass field unsafe for students as they march with their instruments.
This year's show is "NOW! That's What I Call Boy Bands," featuring music from the Jackson 5, *NYSNC, Backstreet Boys, One Direction and BTS, with performances at home football games starting Friday, as well as three competitions this fall — all on turf fields.
The new stadium will give students consistent space and the ability to practice where they play, but another advantage is that equipment doesn't need to travel as far.
In particular, the marching band transports instruments, uniforms and other equipment, including front ensemble pieces — such as xylophones — and the podiums for the drum majors.
"I am also very excited that the needs of the marching band are being considered when some of these decisions are being made," Barnes said. "It just shows the great relationship that we have with our athletic department and school community."
For more information and renderings on the stadium, visit the school district website.
Contact Daphne Lemke at dlemke@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @daphlemke.