Why a Fieldhouse, and Why Now
The Facility Gap
Today, our players prepare for championship-level competition without a dedicated locker room of their own, without a suitable indoor practice space, without a training room for treatment and rehabilitation, and without space designed for team meetings, film review, or game-day nutrition. Equipment is stored wherever it fits. Coaches’ offices are makeshift. Rain or summer heat routinely disrupts practice schedules at exactly the times the team needs the field most.
The early facilities Coach Wood built by hand more than a decade ago — putting walls in temporary buildings, adding steps to existing structures — are still doing duty far beyond what they were ever designed for. The program has grown around them. It is time for the program to grow into a facility built for what it has become.
The programs we compete against have invested in their facilities, and as they have, we have lagged behind. The gap is no longer about cosmetics. It is about competitive standing, player development, and the message we send to current and prospective student-athletes about how seriously we take what they do and how proud we are of the program that has been built here.
It is also, frankly, about national perception. A program ranked second in the country should not be training out of makeshift spaces. Programs at our level — and we are now firmly at that level — invest in their facilities because their facilities are, in part, what makes them programs at that level.
Why Now
Three reasons make this the moment to act.
First, the program has earned it. Six consecutive state titles. National top-five ranking for three consecutive seasons. Multiple Division I college signees. A 37-1 season just completed. Donors and supporters who have watched this program win for two decades are ready to see the facility match the trophies.
Second, the cost of waiting compounds. Construction costs continue to rise. Every year we delay adds tens of thousands of dollars to the same building. We can fund this project today; we cannot guarantee what it will cost in three years.
Third, Coach Wood and her current staff are at the peak of their careers. We have a window to build this facility under their leadership, with their input, and to dedicate it as a marker of what they have accomplished. The time is now.
A Phased Master Plan
This $750,000 campaign funds Phase One: the fieldhouse itself. Future phases will address field improvements — including outfield turf, dugouts, scoreboards, field walls, and seating. By tackling the building first, we secure the indoor amenities the program needs most and reserve the highest-visibility outdoor naming opportunities for future donors who want to be part of what comes next.
A Phased Construction
We are committed to engaging in this Master Plan and Fundraising Campaign in a methodical and responsible way. No work will begin until the funds are raised. The Fieldhouse is designed to be constructed in three subphases: Phase 1 is the sitework and foundation construction (~ $150,000); Phase 2 is the erection of the steel framed building (~ $150,000); and Phase 3 is the buildout of the interior and addition of the fixtures, furnishings, and equipment (~ $450,000). Due to the way this project has been designed and planned, we would like to raise the funds for Phase 1 and then proceed with it; and then, likewise, with Phase 2. We believe that showing progress through actual work and construction will lead to increased interest and excitement for our campaign.
The Lady Cavaliers Softball Fieldhouse
The fieldhouse is a 7,500-square-foot facility (75′ × 100′) designed specifically around the needs of a championship softball program. Every space has a purpose. The floor plan below shows the full facility as designed:
Indoor Practice Facility
Roughly 3,000 square feet of clear-span indoor space, designed to accommodate batting tunnels, pitching lanes, and infield work simultaneously. The space will also be used for team meetings, watching video, and general instruction. This is the single most important amenity in the building. In a state where summer heat, spring storms, and winter cold routinely shut down outdoor practice, year-round indoor training is the difference between a program that hopes to stay sharp and one that does.
Team Locker Room
A dedicated locker room sized for 35 student-athletes, each with her own locker, bench space, and storage. The locker room is the emotional center of any team — where players become teammates and teammates become a team. And of course, there will be two mirrored walls suitable for all the hair, makeup, and gameday preparation our young women need to come out with that championship-look!
Training and Treatment Room
A space dedicated to athletic training, injury treatment, taping, and rehabilitation. Player safety, longevity, and recovery require facilities. This room provides them.
Coach’s Office Suite
Office space for Coach Wood and her assistants, with a private dressing room and dedicated coaches’ restroom. Includes capacity for film review, recruiting conversations, and player meetings.
Team Lounge
A dedicated gathering space for the team — for meetings, study time, team meals, and the moments between practice and game time when a team becomes a family.
Dining Area, Meal Prep Kitchen, and Pantry
A full nutrition operation: tiled dining area, commercial-style meal prep space, refrigeration, and a stocked pantry. Game-day fueling, post-practice meals, and the everyday work of feeding twenty-five athletes is one of the most under-appreciated parts of running a top-tier program. This facility makes it possible.
Foyer and Hall of Champions
The first space anyone sees on entering the fieldhouse — and the natural place to display championship banners, trophies, and the program’s history. Designed to honor what has been accomplished and to set expectations for what comes next. The indoor Hall of Champions complements the existing outdoor Championship Walkway, giving the program a year-round, weather-protected place to display its complete record.