Sterling Public Schools will hold a groundbreaking ceremony Monday, Oct. 27, on a new indoor multipurpose student center designed to expand training and recreation opportunities for Sterling High School students.

The nearly $11 million project will be built in the southwest corner of the grassy area west of Roscoe Eades Stadium, near the site of the former SHS baseball field.

The new facility will feature three basketball and volleyball courts, a 60-yard turf field, a 4,000-square-foot weight room, an athletic training area, two baseball and softball batting cages, a golf teaching space, and new offices.

Superintendent Tad Everett told Shaw Local that construction will start in the next two weeks and is expected to finish in a year. He said SPS plans to hold an open house in October 2026.

District officials said the project is part of the SPS 2026-2028 Facility Plan and will be completed without raising the district’s tax rate. Funding will come from the 1% county sales tax, maturing bonds and private donations.

“This has been a 10-plus year conversation, and one that, as superintendent, I could not financially justify in the past,” Everett wrote in the district’s 2026–2028 Facility Plan. “That fiscal environment has changed, and we are now able to complete the entire SPS 2026-2028 Facility Plan with zero tax increase to Sterling Public School’s tax rate.”

The facility will not host games, but instead will serve as a dedicated training and practice space for students. It is expected to benefit a wide range of programs, including athletics, physical education, marching band, and special education.

SHS students involved in athletics, marching band or other activities would regularly use the new center. Students enrolled in physical education or special education programs also would use the facility.

Everett said the additional space will help alleviate scheduling conflicts at Musgrove Fieldhouse, which was built in the early 1950s and is currently shared by all co-curricular activities.

“We simply have outgrown our need for facilities,” Everett wrote in the plan. “This newly constructed student rec center will allow students to practice right after school, enabling them to get home earlier, not miss meals and family time, as well as give them more time to focus on their homework and academics.”

The district also expects the project to address equity concerns under Title IX. A new girls’ wrestling program launched last year drawing 28 athletes – the largest participation rate in the conference – lacked its own practice area. Once the new facility opens, the existing weight room will be converted into a space dedicated to girls’ wrestling.

The center will also provide year-round access for students during inclement weather and include a 50-car parking lot east of the building, between the facility and Roscoe Eades Stadium.

Byrne & Jones Construction is heading the project, and Everett said construction is not expected to impact student activities.