Week Four finds River with a 2-1 record and finally docking at the friendly confines of Martin Flannery Field.
Friday’s home opener against cross-river rival Magnolia though will be more than just the 2020 debut of the home uniforms.
River’s $2.6 million fieldhouse upgrade is nearing completion and will be ready for use prior to kickoff.
It’s a huge upgrade, one that runs the width of and overlooks the south end zone of the stadium.
“Our fieldhouse originally was built back in 1950s with one small addition made in the 1980s,” said Mark Romick, River’s athletics director. “It was running about 40-50 years old and it was due for a major upgrade.
“The board of education saw fit to put money into a lot of different upgrades in the district and our fieldhouse was one of those things.”
Calling this upgrade “slight’ would be a severe disservice to what River has built.
It’s the crowing piece on what’s been a multi-year, major overhaul to the facility. Upgrades include the new turf field, home and away bleachers, press box, and now the fieldhouse.
The facility, which seats roughly 3,000 pre-COVID restrictions, would rival many a small-college facility.
“The fieldhouse is kind of state of the art in what’s inside,” “Romick said. “For a Division VI school in Ohio, I don’t think you’ll find a much better facility.”
Fieldhouse in Depth
The main walls are all that remain of old facility. It’s more than doubled in size. There is also now a second floor.
One area that stands out is the glass-windowed portion on both the first and second floors. On the main floor, this area houses the school’s new weight room. Above, the conditioning room decked out with cardio equipment.
Both allow Pilots’ athletes to look out on the field whilst working out, another college feel to the facility’s build.
In the playoffs a couple years ago we went down to Athens and it has that college feel to it,” Romick said. “Sitting in the weight room, you’re looking right through the goal post, same with the cardio room.
“It’s just beautiful.”
This weekend saw the delivery of thousands of dollars of equipment to deck out the facility.
From full power racks to trap bars, pull-down stations, and a host of other items, the Pilots’ athletic teams got the full treatment with this order.
“I know a guy down at ProMAXima, based out of Houston, that I dealt with a few other times for purchases for when I was at Cameron,” said Eric James, the elementary school principal along with the Pilots’ defensive coordinator and head strength coach.
“Upon learning what was transpiring with the fieldhouse through Mark, he told me you have “x” number of dollars and to have at it, get me a quote and let me know what you come up with.
“We’re sitting on about 1,600 square feet of space, so I came up with a vision to maximize the space allotted and we were able to get a quote for about $150,000 worth of equipment for $62,000 as we got it basically at cost. They hooked us up pretty good.”
More Than Football Will Benefit
The boon for the football program is easy to see given the proximity.
But this will benefit the entire athletic department and student body as a whole.
Inside the building, a full-sized film room can be found, along with multiple offices for the school’s coaches. There is a dedicated athletic training room now, along with a classroom to be used for the school’s exercise physiology and athletic training classes.
The wrestling team has a larger room to itself, now moved to the second floor, directly across from the cardio room.
“This really will benefit all of our athletes and the students at large,” Romick said. “Our career tech classes in exercise science and athletic training will benefit greatly.”
Also, inside are updated football lockerrooms, now able to comfortable house between 50-52 players each. The previous lockerroom on the visitors side comfortably fit 30 players.
The one area the facility is still somewhat lacking is in parking. Though that is being looked into as well.
“The one thing that needs looked into in terms of serving as a neutral site for playoff games is parking,” James said. “But that is kind of being talked about. I believe the school owns property behind the home bleachers it’s looking at.
“That and it’s missing a track, but there has been talk about a district-use track facility potentially up at the Swiss Hills facility near Woodsfield.”
