Best athletic facilities

[USD24]

I was driving back from Indy this weekend and drove past Merriville High School. That school has unbelievable athletic facilities. It rivals a lot of small college complexes. Just wondering where are some of the best athletic facilities in Illinois.
This post was edited on 3/22 7:48 PM by USD24

 

[WIU@78]

Rich East in Park Forest gains my vote.

 

[mc140]

No one can touch what HF has.

 

[WIU@78]

This post was edited on 3/22 11:04 PM by WIU78

 

[sundevil1988]

Proviso west - hoops arena and best indoor track in state

 

[Anon1754760634]

HF hands down

 

[crusader_of_90]

Don't forget about Edwardsville.[/URL]

 

[Sonap]

Neuqua Valley

 

[CCHS-Fan]

n/m
This post was edited on 3/23 1:23 PM by CCHS-Fan

 

[JCHILLTOPPERS]

Originally posted by CCHS-Fan:
Think I crossed paths with you USD.

Were you at the Indy Convention Center wearing a 'We are Hillmen' shirt by chance?

I'll bet on that.

 

[jwarigaku]

Sonap,

No field house and a football field that is a mud pit at the first sign of rain hardly gives them the nod for best athletic facilities!

 

[USD24]

Originally posted by CCHS-Fan:
Think I crossed paths with you USD.

Were you at the Indy Convention Center wearing a 'We are Hillmen' shirt by chance?

I was at the Indy Convention Center, but don't think I was wearing that shirt. There were a fair amount of JCA parents down there though. I did enjoy Indy. It is pretty easy to have a good time down there, especially during NCAA tourney.

 

[illini14]

I'm laughing at the Neuqua Valley comment.

Metea has better facilities in that very same district.

 

[lkhammer57]

I heard that Viator is supposed to have an amazing weight room with an additional turf workout area that is just as big or even larger than many small college programs facilities

 

[cornerrat]

All.... Hard to quantify best, but the SHG complex is pretty nice for it's size. Just a few years old, at the time it was built "the" state of the art turf in the country, seats about 4500. The engineers put a couple of small berms on each side of the field for the kids that attend more for a social event then the game. That adds another 1500. The press box is a bit small but once you get to a certain size building codes say you have to put in a elevator. That wasn't going to happen. Next to the football/soccer field is a turf baseball field as well. Ratsy

 

[Cross Bones]

Whats in that new HF sports building?

 

[Jiggs]

The North Building Field House Renovation at Homewood-Flossmoor Community High School in Flossmoor, Illinois was selected to receive a Citation for outstanding design in Penton's American School & University® 2014 Architectural Portfolio.
It is in the www.SchoolDesigns.com. An annual competition honoring education design excellence, the Architectural Portfolio spotlights projects representing today's most effective learning environments.http://dla-ltd.com/portfolio/north-building-field-house-renovation-homewood-flossmoor-high-school-illinois/
"The renovation was designed to allow the fieldhouse to host multiple events simultaneously. This means that teams and groups will be able to compete in their sport or activity rather than with each other for facility space. Students will be able to attend practices and meetings immediately after school - not late into the evening or early in the morning - leaving additional time for academic preparation. Overlooking the 200-meter track and four full-sized courts is a new 9,000-sq. ft. fitness facility, featuring state-of-the-art cardio and training equipment. A new 40-yard indoor turf has expanded the playing and practice season for a variety of field sports and activities, including football, soccer, field hockey, baseball and marching band."

http://www.hfhighschool.org/district-info/north-building-renovation-project/

 

[WIU@78]

Is that the marching band on the field....ironic HF has a non competitive marching band who only plays for...you guessed it..football games. The other portion of the press release includes a reference to academics which have been spiraling downwards in the district the last five plus years. The $28 million plus facility will be the eye candy of future recruits however, while the academic level is below the state average for PSAE scores...yep, the priorities are in place for H- F.

This post was edited on 3/23 10:17 PM by WIU78

 

[LHSTigers94]

WIU - Are you suggesting that they should not have build this type of facilities because their test scores are dropping? Are you saying the focus on sports has a direct correlation to lower test scores? I always wondered the point of view when people make comments about a facility upgrade in sports as it relates to the school test scores. I feel pretty safe saying Athletes make up about 10% of the total school population. In short because they decided to spend 28 mill on an athletic facility, they are not concerned about academics? Should they have built a new Library? They would be great considering most people use the internet now days. Just wondering your overall point of view. Very curious.

 

[Wild_Mustang]

Originally posted by LHSTigers94:
WIU - Are you suggesting that they should not have build this type of facilities because their test scores are dropping? Are you saying the focus on sports has a direct correlation to lower test scores? I always wondered the point of view when people make comments about a facility upgrade in sports as it relates to the school test scores. I feel pretty safe saying Athletes make up about 10% of the total school population. In short because they decided to spend 28 mill on an athletic facility, they are not concerned about academics? Should they have built a new Library? They would be great considering most people use the internet now days. Just wondering your overall point of view. Very curious.

BOOM!

 

[GMAN81]

WIU:

We have 500+ public high schools in Illinois. H-F is currently ranked 43 according to this resource. That is in the top 10%.

https://k12.niche.com/rankings/public-high-schools/best-overall/s/illinois/

 

[anon_4vszfu35bv677]

Edgy has seen a lot more facilities the most of us. So I'll go with HF.

 

[WIU@78]

Dr. Mirakle. Niche is based on responses from students and parents...hardly factual. Academics at H-F have tanked. Try the Illinois report card 2013-14 site which lists these facts: 47% ready for college coursework compared to the 46% statewide. 53% meet or exceed PSAE scores and expenditures of $17,199 with only $9,380 put forth for instructional spending. A boat load of money spent to be average in a below average state. Compare with Victor Andrew at 57% college ready, and 66% PSAE scores, expenditures $15,000 and $9,100 instructional. Will the athletic fieldhouse help with these numbers. Just saying the declining academic climate has not been prioritized in the Homewood Flossmoor district budget.

This post was edited on 3/24 7:23 PM by WIU78

 

[WIU@78]

So 10% of the student body received a $28 million dollar playground? BOOM BOOM especially when the general Physical education requirement is on precarious footing in the state of Illinois.



This post was edited on 3/24 9:11 PM by WIU78

 

[illini14]

I'm sure the PE classes at HF have access to the facility during school hours. Regardless of the footing of the PE requirement in the state, the PE classes get access to the facility.

The 10% of the student body fact isn't factual, I would also imagine that to a certain extent the school district is also renting out that space to outside groups for usage during odd hours (late nights / weekends / summer). There's more people using the facility than just a few athletic programs at the HS.

 

[GMAN81]

WIU:

Your source is a much better one than mine as far as academics goes. Thanks for the info...very helpful.

 

[Jiggs]

This topic started out on the benign topic of athletic facilities and what high schools have nice facilities. Having been to several high schools, both private and public, I have always been impressed with the facilities that some high schools have. I have never been to HF, but it seems like an impressive facility. I have been to Neuqua and the campus as a whole is beautiful and you get the sense that you are at a college campus rather than a high school, although its outdoor football field may need an upgrade. I think the older facilities such as OPRF are interesting and at the time they were built were state of the art and still impress. Bolingbrook, York, Hinsdale South,DGS etc. all have great facilities.

What I don't understand how these topics go off the tracks.

 

[WIU@78]

Bronco - it goes off track when $$$$$$$$. Starting with a 28 are involved and reality steps in to indicate sports and recreation should not be the focal point of a high school community. Abuse of funding is a way of life in this state. I will say this...there is currently no better facility then the H-F field house in the state of Illinois at the HS level. I would prefer they better prepare the neighbor kids, yes neighbor kids, to achieve academically. I will bow out now as a concerned tax payer.

 

[ignazio]

I vote for LFA.

 

[Corey90]

The topic was Best Athletic Facilities! It doesn't
make it right but that was the question.

 

[GMAN81]

Corey, WIU and Others:

I don't know how many times I have said this but I wonder if some of you guys read most of the threads here. Most threads take twists and turns and do get off the topic in the title. Some get back on track, however. I have seen a few different things being discussed in the same thread. It happens.

 

[GMAN81]

WIU:

I understand your point as to where the money should go and priorities. But simply throwing money at the academic problem rarely fixes it. This is what we hear from schools and discticts that are struggling academically. "We need more money. We need more money. We need more money." The USA spends more money on education than any other country in the world. Without looking it up I doubt we are in the top 20 academically in the world.

I don't have too much of a problem with the facility at H-F because that is going more directly to the kids there. Whenever I hear an Illinois politician say we need to "invest" more money into education what he is really saying is "we need to shore up pensions more along with health and welfare benefits and more money to the unions." How much of that money really gets to the kids and the education process?

the "investment" we are making in Illinois and in the USA is bringing back a horrible return. There is no way you would invest in any stock that showed such a poor return. At least with the facitlties the kids are getting something positive. Twenty-eight million is a lot though.



This post was edited on 3/25 9:10 AM by Dr. Mirakle

 

[SiuCubFan8]

Never seen H-F in person but that looks damn impressive.

 

[LHSTigers94]

I may be in the minority but I don't really think it is totally off topic. Obviously the one of the best facilities is HF in which a concerned citizen posted his views on how the money is spent. I happen to know that the state will designate funds specifically for buildings and grounds which is a match to what you have. For example I know of a high school that was told to accumulate 10 mill and the state will give 30 mill for renovations. That being said all of the $40mill have to be spent on Facility upgrades therefore if you can swing a indoor field house with turf and still maintain a state of the art school, why not? Unfortunately you can't move funds from one area to another which is why you hear all the time we need books but we added a new gym. Also as Dr. M mentioned most of the cost is salary and pensions which tax payers never see. At least with this facility KIDS will actually benefit from the money spent. If the money can only be spent on facility upgrades, what would you do with the $28 million?

I also don't understand why people get so defensive when others ask questions. I call that open discussion forum. I really wanted to know WIU point of view and he explained perfectly. I still would have built the facility if I had the options but, his opinion was solid. I feel that test scores are a product of the kids/ community and the not the school that they are walking into. The reason private schools are so successful is parents have $10k plus reasons to be concerned about the success or failure of their child. Public schools not so much. I am willing to bet that the community make up has changed which is most likely the reason for the decline in test scores.