Sterling Public Schools broke ground Monday, Oct. 27, on a new indoor multipurpose student center designed to expand training and recreation opportunities for Sterling High School students.

The nearly $11 million project will be built in the southwest corner of the grassy area west of Roscoe Eades Stadium, near the site of the former SHS baseball field.

Superintendent Tad Everett said the project is part of the SPS 2026-2028 Facility Plan and will be completed without raising the district’s tax rate. Funding will come from the 1% county sales tax, maturing bonds and private donations.

“Mr. Austin has been talking about trying to construct a facility of this nature for nearly 10 years,” Everett said during his opening remarks Monday. “And we would not have had the opportunity, financially, 10 years ago, to make this a reality... Our financial environment is in a much different place. The 1% sales tax has been a game-changer for us since 2013.”

The new facility will feature three basketball and volleyball courts, a 60-yard turf field, a 4,000-square-foot weight room, an athletic training area, two baseball and softball batting cages, a golf teaching space, and new offices.

The facility will not host games, but instead will serve as a dedicated training and practice space for students. It is expected to benefit a wide range of programs, including athletics, physical education, marching band, and special education.

SHS students involved in athletics, marching band or other activities would regularly use the new center. Students enrolled in physical education or special education programs would also have access to the facility.

“We’re excited about what this will do for our students,” Everett said. “It’s going to benefit our student athletes. It’s going to benefit our fine arts department. It’s going to benefit our special ed students and our physical education department.”

Everett said the additional space will help alleviate scheduling conflicts at Musgrove Fieldhouse, which was built in the early 1950s and is currently shared by all co-curricular activities.

“We simply have outgrown our need for facilities,” Everett wrote in the plan. “This newly constructed student rec center will allow students to practice right after school, enabling them to get home earlier, not miss meals and family time, as well as give them more time to focus on their homework and academics.”

The district also expects the project to address equity concerns under Title IX. A new girls’ wrestling program launched last year, drawing 28 athletes – the largest participation rate in the conference – but lacked its own practice area. Once the new facility opens, the existing weight room will be converted into a space dedicated to girls’ wrestling.

“We’re excited to invest in our girls’ wrestling program, which exploded last year,” Everett said. “We had more participants than any other school in the conference.”

The center will also provide year-round access for students during inclement weather and include a 50-car parking lot east of the building, between the facility and Roscoe Eades Stadium.

“We’re so excited about not just how this came to be, but the future,” Everett said. “Because as we’re standing here today, for years to come, this is going to be a great place for our students.”

Byrne & Jones Construction is heading the project. Construction is expected to start within the next two weeks and is anticipated to be completed within a year. SPS plans to hold an open house in October 2026.

Everett said construction is not expected to impact student activities.