Two years after the groundbreaking Indian Creek administrators welcomed students and families to tour the new performing arts center and fieldhouse Sunday afternoon.
Assistant Superintendent Andrea Perry said the day was a “momentous occasion” to celebrate the grand opening of the 68,000 sq foot fieldhouse and 26,700 sq foot auditorium.
“The performing arts center and fieldhouse will allow for richer opportunities, growth and development in academics, fine arts and athletics for our K through 12 students, all of which provides our students with the kind of education they need to lead in our future world,” she said.
The project has been more than five and a half years in the making since the first discussion of the new projects began, said Greg Waltz, Nineveh-Hensley-Jackson school board president.
Waltz gave special thanks to the many people working behind the scenes to complete the project, including maintenance and custodial staff, contract workers, alumni and community members. A few final touch-ups are being completed as backlogged supplies come in, he said.
Indian Creek High School Principal Luke Skobel said he expects people to be “blown away” by the new facilities.
“The state-of-the-art facilities have been meticulously designed to enhance the educational experience and the holistic development of our students,” Skobel said during his remarks. “In the fieldhouse, of course, bodies are going to be strengthened and skills developed and that’s where we fully expect to forge many champions in the years to come.”
The new fieldhouse features a suspended walking track, wrestling room, weight room, concession area and more.
With new training facilities and new equipment in the auditorium, Skobel said he hopes the space will be a place to “instill pride with the values of teamwork, discipline and perseverance” for students.
The 26,700 square foot performing arts center will be a place to ‘see imagination come to life,” Skobel said.
“At the same time, this performing arts center stands as a testament to the importance of creativity and self-expression,” Skobel said. “In this room, we get to see imagination come to life. It will be a hub for the arts providing our students with a platform to showcase their talents in music, dance, theater and much more.”
Skobel hopes students will take advantage of the state-of-the-art facilities and empower them to explore their skills and passions.
Parent Josh Dickison said now it’ll be easier to bring his kids, a sophomore and seventh grader, to extracurricular activities without bouncing around to different places.
“Sometimes for the kids to get to the practice time, we’d have to go from one gym to the next, times weren’t always the same,” Dickinson said. “So we’ll have some more consistency and make it a little easier for all the parents.”
The new auditorium will triple the seating capacity to 916 seats and will be utilized for the first time Saturday when high school students will put on a production of “A Christmas Carol.” The new auditorium is equipped with theatrical lighting throughout, fly curtains, a green room and a half-depth orchestra pit.
Lauren Atwood, play director, said it’s both nerve-wracking and exciting to be able to perform on the new stage and utilize new dressing rooms.
Although members of the choir have been practicing in the performing arts center for a couple of weeks now, they performed publicly on stage for the first time at the open house. Junior Choir members Emma Clark and Abbigale Garland have been performing since the plans to bring a new auditorium.
Nearly six years since they first heard of the plans, they said it’s “more exciting than nerve-wracking” to be able to perform in the new auditorium.
“I’ve been waiting for this for a very long time,” Clark said. “We all have.”
Senior Caty Bockover will perform her senior play on the new stage. She said she’s excited about the opportunities to combine middle school and high school performances now that the auditorium has more seating.
“Our old auditorium it was just starting to fall apart, like lights not wanting to work, the sound system was just not wanting to work. So it’s great to have new.”
The school will start getting quotes for the new baseball field and complex in the coming weeks, Waltz said.
