Bengals launch effort to build new athletic fields

The Lewiston High School Bengals are getting an addition to their new home.

Groundbreaking took place Saturday for a $10 million athletic facility that will host the Bengals’ football, track and field, and soccer teams. Potlatch No. 1 Financial Credit Union provided more than half of the funding and also were given naming rights, according to Superintendent Lance Hansen.

The first stage of construction will build the football, track and field, and soccer stadium, along with a practice football field that will have discus and shot put for track and field.

The stadium will be able to hold around 2,000 people and will be located east of the main building of the high school, which opened in 2020. The stadium will also include a press box, concessions, locker rooms and a storage building, and its playing surface will use artificial turf instead of grass.

“It’s economically the most feasible to do because of the reduction of the water bill. It pays for itself,” said Lewiston School Board President Brad Cuddy about the decision to go with artificial turf.

The next stage of fundraising and construction will be for the baseball field and a softball quad, along with additional soccer fields.

The athletic facility is not funded by local taxpayers through a levy or the $59.8 million bond voters passed in 2017 to build the new high school.

“The board very intentionally elected not to include (athletic facilities) in the bond proposal because we thought it might push the cost too high and we wanted to focus on academics,” Cuddy said.

Instead, the athletic facility was funded through a capital campaign and the selling of assets by the school district, including selling Booth Hall and other buildings at the old high school to the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Lewis-Clark Valley.

“None of the dollars for the bond are going toward this program,” Hansen said. “We have looked for major donors and will continue to raise funds.”

Cuddy gave credit to the generosity of the Lewiston community for funding the project and P1FCU as the major donor.

“I don’t know of many, or any, schools in the state, or several states, that received the amount of contributions that Lewiston has,” Cuddy said. “We live in a remarkable place.”

The project is estimated to be completed in 14 months or fewer.

“Our hope is to be able to host a fall event next year,” Hansen said. “It might not be all of them, but at least a couple football games and soccer matches.”

The timeline of when the project will be completed and ready for use will depend somewhat on the weather during construction.

“A really dry winter would be fantastic for the project,” Cuddy said, noting that a wet winter with snow and rain could slow down the construction.

Even if the building of the new venue is delayed, it won’t prevent Lewiston’s athletic events from taking place because the current facilities will continue to be used.

“The construction will not interfere with what we’ve got going on, which is great,” Cuddy said.

Even after the new spaces are built, all of the former venues, like Bengal Field for football and Walker Field for soccer matches, will be used by the district.

Eventually, all the athletic venues for high school students will be at LHS. Cuddy said the central location will make it easier on students, coaches and parents and make a positive impact for kids in those programs. Those facilities will also be used by other student groups, such as the marching band.

Hansen said having all the athletics events at the same facility will make it “a venue that our students will be proud of and our community will be proud of.”

Other community groups also use the current facilities for events and that collaboration will continue when the new facilities are completed.

“It’s exciting,” Cuddy said. “I think we got a great facility there and it’s going to get better.”

Brewster may be contacted at kbrewster@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2297.