arizona school district planning for athletic field upgrades

Members of the Lake Havasu Unified School District’s governing board are moving ahead with a plan to upgrade the athletic fields of two local schools.

In a unanimous vote, the board has contracted out for architectural design services that will target the phase two upgrade work at the Lake Havasu High School, located at 2675 Palo Verde Boulevard, and the Thunderbolt Middle School, at 695 Thunderbolt Avenue.

Actual construction work on the fields will most likely begin sometime next year.
According to district officials, the existing Lake Havasu High School athletic field, which includes a cinder track, has been in poor condition and is virtually unchanged since the 1970s.

The architectural design services firm is the Mesa-based Emc2 Architects, which specializes in architectural planning primarily for educational and governmental clients.

Funding for the athletic field projects is coming from a $49 million bond passed by district voters in 2016. Of that amount, some $5.3 million is targeting the fields upgrade work.

That funding has also paid for the construction of the district’s 3,000-seat Lee Barnes Stadium.

The northwest Arizona district includes eight elementary, middle, and high schools with a total enrollment of around 5,300 students.

By Garry Boulard

---