PHOTOS: New Athletic Castle Opens atop Highlander Hill

Friday, August 9, 2024 at 11:22 AM

Student-athletes across multiple sports are enjoying the new facility.

Photo by Travis Thayer, Eagle Country 99.3.

(Aurora, Ind.) - Student-athletes and coaches have moved into a new athletic facility at South Dearborn High School.

The completion of the project comes three years after discussions about facility upgrades starting in June of 2021. Nearly a year after groundbreaking, the facility is done and is currently housing the Knights' football, boys and girls soccer and cross country programs.

The new facility, which includes locker rooms, coaches' offices, training room, center meeting area, concessions, and ADA compliant restrooms and ramps, replaces the former structure that was built at the same time South Dearborn High School was constructed in the late 1970s.

Another new addition is a roadway leading down the hill to the athletic facility to a small parking lot with handicap accessibility.

Plans are also being made to add a projector to the center meeting area to allow for film study for various sports.

The athletic facility was a part of a larger $15 million dollar buildings project, which included various upgrades at South Dearborn High School. The total cost of the athletic facility alone was approximately $5 million.

All of the work was done without a raise in taxes.

South Dearborn varsity football head coach Rand Ballart and some of his star players joined Crunch Time this past Monday to discuss the upcoming high school football season. Among the topics discussed was the new athletic facility. See what they had to say about it below.

Coach Ballart:

"It's really been a longtime coming. That old brick building was rough, we moved into the barn and didn't have any water or anything. These guys, especially the seniors, have trekked in that barn the last three years with no AC. This new facility is second to none. It's absolutely incredible. Our lockers are full sized lockers, floor to ceiling. We couldn't ask for anything better."

Caden Thompson:

"The space. It is just a lot better having your own locker. Last year, we were in the barn. We had shelves that we put up, and everyone's stuff was everywhere. Now, we actually have a place to go into that has air conditioning. It's just a lot more up to scale, I'd say."

Conor Huff:

"It's a lot cleaner, we had stink bugs in our barn last season.

Further athletic upgrades could be coming to South Dearborn High School in the near future. There have been discussions about new bleachers, press box, and fencing at the football field, in addition to talks about installing turf baseball and softball fields. However, nothing has been made official at this time.

See photos of the new athletic facility below.