FREEMAN SCHOOL BOARD SETS COURSE FOR MAJOR STADIUM/TRACK PROJECT

School officials prepared to spend $4 to $4.5 million using capital outlay certificates; updated complex could be ready by fall of 2026

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• School board hires Aberdeen engineering firm to begin design process
• Project would see new stadium built on current visitor’s side of the track and field, along with new press box, concession stand and restroom facilities
• Track built in 2001 to be replaced entirely
• New turf field that could be used for other sports also being considered; will be included as an alt-bid
• Work could begin as early as May/June

by Jeremy Waltner

A project that has been under serious consideration for several years took a big step forward last month when the Freeman Public School Board hired an engineering firm to work on the development of an updated outdoor athletic facility that includes new stadium seating and a new track.

The district is looking at spending between $4 and $4.5 million on the project using capital outlay certificates.

A lot must take place from here on out — from conceptual designs and RFPs (Request For Proposals) to bid documents and final approval — but Freeman Superintendent Jake Tietje told The Courier last week that work could begin as early as spring and be completed by this time next year.

“There’s a lot of enthusiasm (on the board),” said Tietje. “This is much needed; it’s been on our radar and part of our five-year plan. We’ve been waiting for this moment, so it’s fun when you’ve been anticipating something and then finally get there.”

By “getting there,” Tietje means the action that came at last month’s regular school board meeting on Aug. 11 when the board voted to hire Aberdeen-based SPM Helms to begin the engineering process that includes land surveillance, soil sampling, design work and RFPs.

“Right now, the only thing the board has committed to is the design of the facility and the pre-bid estimates,” Tietje said. “We want to see what it’s going to cost, what it could look like and then at that point and time we can make more decisions.

“There are a lot of thoughts and a lot of working through things,” he continued. “It’s fun, but there’s a lot of planning and a lot of hashing things out.”

This preliminary schematic shows was a rebuilt track and field facility with turf could look like. The junior-senior high school is pictured on the left (north) with a new home stadium below the field (west). School officials say the stadium and track rebuilt are the priorities of the project, with turn included as an alt-bid.

Stadium need driving force

While the 24-year-old track is nearing the end of its life expectancy, the driving force behind the project is the well-worn — and then some — stadium that opened to spectators in 1981. The stadium was built largely on the backs of community support a full 10 years after the track and football field were first constructed in 1971; that came four years before the junior-senior high school was built in 1975, as the local school board was desperately trying to get a bond issue passed for a new classroom building — something that took seven votes.

The concrete structure facing the southwest has caused the district problems for many years and required multiple fixes to address crumbling steps and other structural challenges.

Tietje says enough is enough.

“The grandstand has served its purpose,” he said. “Band-Aid-fix after Band-Aid-fix has gone into it. It’s beyond its life expectancy and is falling apart.”

And with the press box atop the stadium, that becomes a built-in need, as well.

Early design concepts show a new stadium and press box being constructed on the opposite side of the field — currently the “away” side — to eliminate the home crowd having to look directly into the evening sun. The northwest side of the complex — near The Hanger — would also serve as a plaza accessible from the southwest corner of the junior-senior high school parking lot; the plaza would include a concessions stand and bathroom facilities.

A new track makes this a package deal.

While Freeman High School’s running surface has seen cosmetic fixes over the years, its base layers are the same as they have been since the all-weather track was installed in 2001 as part of a major project that also included a brand-new football field that remains in use — and in good shape — today.

Twenty-four years “is the life expectancy for tracks in this type of a climate,” Tietje said. “That base asphalt layer, over time, just like our roads, cracks and wears out and needs to be replaced. And we’re at that time.”

The track and stadium project and design that goes with it will also allow the district to reconfigure some of the areas used for the “field” portion of track and field.

For example, moving the long jump, triple jump and high jump to an area in front of the northeast bleachers (the current “home” side of the field), would allow for a better fan experience, Tietje said.

The football field

Tietje said while the stadium and track replacements take priority, the district is also considering replacing the grass football field with turf. The plan is to include that as an alt-bid so the board has that option of doing so without compromising the rest of the project when it comes time for approval.

“The field is the biggest question mark,” Tietje said. “It’s tough because we have a beautiful football field that’s in really good shape.”

But there are advantages to turf, he said.

A new artificial playing surface would allow the field to be used for sports other than just football — namely soccer and softball. Turf would also eliminate the need for the vast upkeep that is required for grass.

“Nobody understands how much work goes into the maintenance of the football field,” Tietje said. “It is hours and hours of time; that’s one of the big reasons people are going with turf.”

But that would also up the expense; the question is by how much.

Tietje said the district is allowed to take up to 1.5% of total taxable valuation in capital outlay certificates — long-term debt funded by financial institutions paid down by the district using existing/future tax revenue and built into the annual budget.

For Freeman Public, that translates to $7 million.

While the district has targeted selling $4 to $4.5 million in capital outlay certificates to fund the project, that doesn’t mean it can’t sell more.

It also doesn’t mean that it should.

“I don’t think in the board’s wildest thoughts or dreams they would even consider that, but that’s a good sign,” Tietje said. “It tells you financially where we’re at — that we have the ability to go that high, but we don’t have to go that high.”

Timeline

Helms & Associates has already been on site, with workers surveying land last week. Soil boring will also be an early necessity, and preliminary designs are already being studied and will be modified in the weeks to come.

“It’s all very preliminary,” Tietje said. “There are a lot of things still in early discussions.”

Still, he said, things could move quickly.

The schematic design and cost estimates are expected to be completed this fall with the project going out for bids by late winter or early spring. Tietje said the target is to break ground following the final practice of the 2026 track season, with completion by the start of next school year.

Should school officials decide to install a turf playing surface, that portion of the project might have to come as a second phase sometime in 2027, Tietje said.