The inside of Ceres High School's football stadium looks a lot different these days thanks to a $2.3 million state-matched upgrade improvement.
"The biggest part of the project was replacing the old bathrooms," Ceres Unified School District Supt. Scott Siegel said. "As a result of that, we ended up putting in a new snack bar because we had to tear the old building down. We also added two P.E. classrooms with a storage shed in between."
Students, staff, parents and community members attending football and soccer games at Bulldog Stadium no longer have to use outdated restrooms.
"People did not like to go in and use those restrooms," Siegel said. "That's why we had some Porta-Potties out there. The old restrooms were unacceptable. It was awful.
They were not up to the standards our customers deserve. It was something you'd expect to see way up in the mountains. It needed to be replaced. Everybody is really happy. It's a huge difference."
"It's a great reminder our school district didn't forget about us," Ceres High varsity football head coach Bret Durossette said. "They found money to be able to furbish that. The facility is really nice. It's going to bring a lot of pride to the school."
Ceres High's and Central Valley's football programs play their home games at Bulldog Stadium.
The two P.E. classrooms are used by teams during halftime.
"It's a tremendous upgrade," said Greg Magni, Central Valley athletic director. "It's beautiful."
Ceres Unified broke ground on the project, which was funded by the district and state, in June.
The state contributed $500,000.
The district used $800,000 in Measure U residual funds to pay for the improvements. The bond issue was passed by voters in 2008.
The district covered the remaining balance through a $1 million refinance of Certificates Of Participation (COPs).
"It's a first-class building for our students, staff and spectators," said Steve Fabela, assistant superintendent of Business Services for CUSD. "We had to start from scratch. We're very pleased with the outcome."
"It's the same standard we have at all of our schools," Siegel added.
