Groundbreaking for the new Washington Community High School athletic facility at Babcook Field is scheduled for April 1.

According to representatives of the Panthers Alumni Association and the 12th Man Foundation, who met with architects from BLDD Architects Inc., Superintendent Jim Dunnan and business manager Steve Zimmerman, the architectural plans will soon be finalized and sent to the regional office of education for approval.

The $500,000 new facility will include new public restrooms, locker rooms, a concession stand, two offices in the upper level, as well as two viewing decks connected to a large lounge for football and baseball games.

In order to pay for the building, Troy Reed, owner and president of LS Building Products in East Peoria, has collected donations of labor and materials from several local companies, including Scott Weaver and Son Trucking and Excavating and Dick Rich Plumbing Inc. in Washington.
School Board District 308 agreed to pay any additional costs incurred from using state-approved architects.

The Panther Football Alumni Association is also selling orange engravable blocks for a $100 donation and black engravable blocks for a $250 donation. Each block can be engraved with three lines of text or two lines of text plus a sports logo.

In response to inquiries, they also created three levels of premier sponsorship for a donation of $1,000, $2,000 or $3,000.

According to Brad Fuller of the Panther Football Alumni Association, the group has raised about half the amount of its goal through private donations.

The Panther Alumni Association has submitted its application for 501 (c)(3) nonprofit status. If accepted, any private donations, including block purchases, will be tax-deductible.

Although Reed said he will have to re-bid everything once he gets the final drawings from the BLDD architects, he does not expect the numbers to change very much.

“One unknown that we will find out about next week is whether or not we can frame the second floor in lumber, or if, because of the size, we need to use fire-proof materials,” Reed said.
 If fire-proof materials, such as blocks or steel studs and fire-proof sheeting, are needed for the second floor, the overall cost will increase.

However, Reed said he is comfortable either private or business donations will be able to make up the difference.

For more information on ordering blocks or donating, visit www.pantherfootballalumni.com.