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| Barat Academy Stadium to be Named After School President |
One of the gifts Barat Academy President Debby Watson received last Christmas Eve left her speechless.
Her feeling of awe could be forgiven - for the average person, it's not every day a friend donates $1 million in your name.
"Every time I tell the story, I feel the emotions again. You don't even know how to respond to a gift like that," Watson said. The object that will bear her name will be the private high school's new state-of-the-art stadium, to be called Watson Stadium.
This honor followed the death of her brother.
"It was an insane year, from one extreme to another," Watson said.
Construction on Watson Stadium is set to be completed this fall or in early spring, she said.
"Next summer we'll finish out the bleachers and the press box," Watson said.
The stadium construction is being funded by gifts from the Behan and Christopher families.
The $4 million stadium will have a synthetic turf field, making Barat Academy one of three schools in St. Charles County to have such a feature.
It will play host to girls field hockey, boys and girls lacrosse, boys and girls soccer and boys and girls football. Watson Stadium will feature a lighted multi-use synthetic turf field for outdoor sports and an eight-lane competition track.
Watson said the school is hoping to attract more male students with the promise of competitive sports.
"We will have a football team this fall. We will play at that field at some point this fall," Watson said.
Chelsea Wilhit is scheduled to be the place kicker on the football team.
Rick Dodd, the K-12 specialist with Hastings and Chivetta Architects, said the stadium was part of the original plans for Barat Academy.
The St. Louis-based architecture firm worked alongside builder Paric Corporation on the project.
"We were there from day one, working alongside Paric, to try to make their dreams come true," Dodd said.
Currently, the school is comprised of the founders building. In addition to the stadium, plans for the school include adding a commons building intended to house dining, multipurpose, art and music spaces.
Bill Lowery, project manager for Paric Corporation, said the phases of the project will take a year to implement, and will run from September to September.
Currently, the school is in phase three, which includes the stadium and a baseball diamond, Lowery said. Construction on the commons building is expected to begin in September, he said.
Lowery said plans are in the works to begin construction on a field house in 2009 and a chapel in 2010.
Barat Academy is a private, independent, faith-based high school and is the first Catholic high school in Missouri founded by a lay board of directors.
Lowery said the stone construction of the buildings and their classic design will never lose luster.
"The overall intent was to create something timeless," Lowery said. |