Crete High School breaks ground on a new stadium in Nebraska

$10 million project will serve the school's football, soccer, tennis, track and band programs

Crete High student-athletes took part in a ceremonial ground breaking Monday for a $10 million stadium project on the school's Nebraska campus. / KOLN•KGIN

It was an exciting day at Nebraska's Crete High as student-athletes and administrators took part in a ceremonial ground breaking on a new $10 million sports complex, which will provide the Cardinals with a new home for their football and soccer programs, according to a news report by 1011Now.

Crete's football and soccer teams have played their home games at nearby Doane University, but space and scheduling conflicts at Doane have made the arrangement increasingly more difficult to manage. The new facility at Crete will be built in three phases with the construction of a new stadium, on the site of the school's current track slated to be tackled first and completed in time for the fall athletic season. New lighting, permanent bleachers, a pressbox and scoreboards are all part of the initial phase.

“A lot of our neighbors are growing their facilities as well,” said Crete Director of Activities Matt Martin, to 1011Now. “So so for us to have a project that we can have kids look forward to, I think the the energy is, is really palpable and create right now.”

During phase two, the school will expand its existing tennis courts, with new coaches boxes, a fan experience pavilion, a concession stand, a spirit store and home locker rooms. Finally, phase three will include a new multi-sport fieldhouse, further enhancements to the track, the installation of field turf in the stadium, paved parking facilities and additional infrastructure improvements.

Nearly half of the funding will come from the Crete Public Schools district building fund. The rest will be raised through a capital campaign.