Florence School District Three's Board of Trustees voted Tuesday in a called meeting to approve the construction of a new on-campus athletic facility at Lake City High School.
The facility will be in the existing track area and serve football, soccer and track. The estimated cost is $11.4 million. Actual construction will take approximately one year to complete.
The new facility will have a seating capacity of 5,000 and will include home and visitor locker rooms with space for athletic trainers and game officials. Also included are separate concessions and restrooms for both home and visiting fans. The facility will have synthetic turf and an eight-lane track, allowing the school's track teams to host meets.
The plan includes replacing the baseball and softball batting cage with a new building located where tennis courts once were and adding a 3,000-square-foot weight room with showers and restrooms in that same area.
The current softball field will move a short distance from the stadium. The new softball field will include 250-seat bleachers, a new press box, dugouts, fencing, grass and irrigation.
The board approved the new construction after a survey showed nearly two-thirds of respondents supported building an on-campus facility.
The board also considered renovating Ward Memorial Stadium at an estimated cost of $3.6 million. Twenty-three percent of the survey respondents favored this option.
The district's fundraising committee for the project is developing ideas for raising the money necessary for construction. Some fundraising ideas include premium seating, corporate and individual donations, and stadium naming rights.