School district will replace fieldhouse at Thomas Worthington Stadium

Stephen Borgna, ThisWeek
·1 min read
The fieldhouse at Thomas Worthington High School is more than 40 years old, according to the district. The 8,000-square-foot building will be replaced by one approximately 12,000 square feet.
The fieldhouse at Thomas Worthington High School is more than 40 years old, according to the district. The 8,000-square-foot building will be replaced by one approximately 12,000 square feet.

Worthington Schools plans to construct a new fieldhouse at Thomas Worthington High School to replace the current structure at the northeast corner the stadium.

The proposal was approved May 26 by the Worthington Architectural Review Board, according to city planning coordinator Lynda Bitar.

Bitar said the next steps for the district is to acquire the necessary permits for both demolition and construction.

The two-story fieldhouse is more than 40 years old, according to Jeff Eble, the district’s director of business.

Thomas Worthington's two-story fieldhouse is shown June 1. Groundbreaking for the new facility is tentatively scheduled for late fall or early winter. The new building is expected to be completed by the start of the fall 2023 season.
Thomas Worthington's two-story fieldhouse is shown June 1. Groundbreaking for the new facility is tentatively scheduled for late fall or early winter. The new building is expected to be completed by the start of the fall 2023 season.

The approximately $5 million project is separate from the proposed renovations to both Thomas Worthington and Worthington Kilbourne high schools under phase 2 of the district’s master facilities plan, Eble said.

“This was part of the last bond issue (from 2018),” he said. “We didn’t start implementing it because we weren’t sure where we were going with the high school.”

Eble said the new fieldhouse will have approximately twice the number of bathroom stalls as in the current building and will have more locker and storage space.

The current building is approximately 8,000 square feet, he said, and the new facility will be approximately 12,000 square feet.

Eble said officials expect to send the project out for bids in August. The plan is for the current facility to be used during this fall’s season before moving forward with demolition.

Groundbreaking for the new facility is tentatively scheduled for late fall or early winter – with plans to have the new fieldhouse ready in time for the fall 2023 season.

While a new facility is under construction, Eble said sports teams would use facilities inside the high school.

sborgna@thisweeknews.com

@ThisWeekSteve

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: School district will replace fieldhouse at Thomas Worthington Stadium