Madison High School’s new field house unrivaled by other high school facilities in Idaho
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REXBURG — This week, Madison School District 321 will unveil its massive indoor field house built as part of a $27 million bond.
The district built the over 45,000 square-foot Bobcat Fieldhouse over 15 months to give students and the community a place to play indoors. The state-of-the-art facility sits just north of Madison High School and includes areas for multiple sports.
“This is going to be huge for Madison, our students and also our community,” Madison High School Principal Bradee Klassen told EastIdahoNews.com. “We have a lot of snow in Rexburg and so to be able to have these athletes to be able to have a practice facility is going to be a game-changer.”
The district is hosting an open house Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m. to show off the new turf field, two-lane indoor track, pickleball courts and batting/golf driving cages. Nine full outside tennis courts sit alongside the steel structure. Inside the Bobcat Fieldhouse, the district will have live music from the MHS marching band, refreshments and raffles.
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District officials say no other high school field house in Idaho rivals that of Bobcat Fieldhouse in size and versatility. Only Idaho’s universities have larger indoor sporting fields. The field alone took over 30 tons of sand and 18 tons of rubber pellets to make a soft surface artificial turf, just like in Madison High School’s outdoor stadium.
“We have a superintendent that has a vision,” Klassen said. “We have a school board that is very supportive and most importantly, we have a community that supports what we are trying to do, that puts an emphasis on education.”
The bond to pay for the facility passed in 2017. It not only covered the new sports facilities but also added classrooms. The bond also included updates to the district’s older schools both inside and outside.
“When you combine and you decide you want to do what’s best for the students, incredible things can happen,” Madison School District spokeswoman Jessica Goudy said. “Magic happens and facilities are built.”
Goudy explained when you have such amazing and well-built facilities, great teachers come to teach and students come to the district, just because of the good facilities.
While the high school will have primary use of the new field house, the district expects to incorporate community hours for people to use the track and pickleball/tennis courts. To use the turf field, community members will need to make an appointment.
A full-time staffer will work at the Bobcat Fieldhouse to help with scheduling, checking people in and monitor the installed security cameras to keep the facility safe.
“This has been a long time in the making,” Klassen said. “It’s a great day to be a bobcat and we’re super excited to utilize this space for our students and patrons.”