Almost in the home stretch El Rancho Unified shares news on major high school renovation – Whittier Daily News

Seventy-one years is a long time to wait for renovations, but the El Rancho High School community only has to wait five months to get its first look at the $200 million project, officials said this week.

Superintendent Marco Villegas is preparing to fulfill a dream he says has long been supported by students, families and residents.

A brand new football stadium will open in April, already decked out in the blue and white colors of Boise State, just waiting for the track oval to be built around it; sports fields for baseball and softball; football and athletics facilities, as well as a water sports centre.

“The new athletic fields at our high school are more than just an area for sports; they are an investment in our students and our community,” said Kendall Goyenaga, El Rancho Principal. “These state-of-the-art areas provide opportunities for our students to develop their talents, skills and strengthen school spirit.”

Villegas said the new facilities will also be a source of pride for the community.

The high school construction project is funded by Measure ER, a $200 million school construction bond approved by El Rancho Unified School District voters in 2016. This will be the first improvement to the school’s facilities since the school first opened its doors in 1952. According to Esther Mejia, El Rancho Union School District board president.

Generations of Dons have worn Blue Pride loudly, and alumni and students will have much to love, from the new Don Memorial Stadium with its blue football field, 5,000-seat bleachers and press box, to the synthetic athletics and new stadium. practice field and new basketball courts.

The project also includes new team facilities, locker rooms, restrooms, concessions, ticket booths, coaches’ offices, storage facilities, a weight room and practice room. There will be new scoreboards, sports lighting, outdoor sound systems, walkways, netting, fencing and general improvements to the area.

The 33-meter pool will be CIF compliant and will feature bleachers and a digital scoreboard. Parking around the site will be reconfigured and fencing around the perimeter of the site will be upgraded for security purposes.

New facilities for the El Rancho soccer team can’t come soon enough. The Dons trained off campus for two years after groundbreaking. They are in the semifinals this week and currently have an 8-4 overall record and a 2-2 league record.

“The first eight months (of construction) people didn’t really see anything other than a lot of demolition, then the next six to seven months it would seem like we were just moving earth from one place to another,” Villegas said. “But things were happening that weren’t easy to see. These objects will have no equal and will in many ways show that we are one city, one district. This is just the beginning.”