FUHSD approval allows building of fieldhouse

Since the Fallbrook Union High School District board has approved the construction of a football fieldhouse on district property, such a facility will be built using private donations from the Fallbrook Football Boosters.

The fieldhouse would include coaches’ offices, a weight room, a film room, and an equipment storage room. The booster club will pay for the construction work, and upon completion the fieldhouse will be turned over to the school district. The facility will be located on the side of Ivy Field.

“The board approval was a key milestone,” said Fallbrook High School football coach Patrick Schmidt. “We are so extremely grateful for their support.”

In January the district board approved the donation from the Fallbrook Football Boosters. The estimate for the project is $187,364, and the school board will accept future donations if necessary. The school district also accepted the project concept, although the paperwork itself was not finished.

“The construction project will be through the booster club,” said Chet Gannett, the Fallbrook Union High School District’s assistant superintendent for business services. “Any contracts that are issued will be done not through the Fallbrook High School district but through the booster club.”

The fieldhouse will also allow for the Warriors to meet during halftime, allowing an indoor convergence not currently available. “There’s just really no place to go during halftime,” said Fallbrook High School athletic director John Hayek.

Other meetings also don’t allow for attendance by an entire football team at once. “There’s not an area on campus that we can have regular access to,” Schmidt said. “We have to split that up and run that in shifts.”

Schmidt noted that preliminary interest will likely translate to approximately 90 players seeking varsity positions on the 2007 team. “There’s a need on campus,” he said.

The football players even aren’t guaranteed space at the school’s weight room. “It keeps us all at a competitive disadvantage,” Schmidt said.

The separate weight room will help not only the football team but also other users of the weight room who will no longer have to share that facility with the football players. “Everybody on campus is going to benefit from it,” Schmidt said.

“It helps everybody because it gets the football team out of the common weight room,” Hayek said.

“It’s going to be a good addition not only to our football program,” Gannett said. “It’s a winning event all the way around.”

In addition to the construction itself, work includes architectural plans and selection of a specific configuration. “There’s a lot of activity towards getting this done,” Schmidt said.

“All the board members and the superintendent have been extremely supportive,” Schmidt said. “We’re hoping to break ground as soon as possible.”