Badin, which is the only Catholic high school in Butler County, has for decades been sports nomads with its outdoors boys’ and girls’ sports teams.

But those decades of playing home games at rented sports fields in Hamilton, Fairfield and beyond are nearing an end, school officials said this week.

“It’s very exciting. Every day you look up and you see additional progress. Much of the stadium turf has been laid, which is great, but there’s still plenty of work to be done,” said Badin President Brian Pendergest.

“We’re really looking forward to having outdoor athletic events at home at Badin High School for the first time in 60 years,” Pendergest said of the Lanni Family Stadium at Matandy SportsPlex rising behind the school in west Hamilton.

Mirroring the rising stadium light towers and stands is the progress school officials are reporting on the fundraising campaign to cover the $15 million price tag.

“Thanks to the generosity of so many of our alumni and friends of Badin and the matching gift from Frank and Joanne Pfirman, we are within $500,000 of our fundraising goal and keep moving closer each week,” he said.

The school, which saw a 21st Century record enrollment of 735 students to start this school year, plans to have the sports stadium’s running track rolled out and ready by spring 2025 and may host some track events toward the end of this school year. Other stadium features will be built during the summer in anticipation of a full outdoors sports schedule by the late summer start of classes for next school year.

“We’ll be playing boys and girls soccer in Lanni Stadium in August, and our first truly home football game is Friday, Sept. 5, against Edgewood High School. Those will be big nights.”

With the addition of a new and bigger student parking lot along the western border of the school’s campus opened earlier this year – in part to handle the anticipated traffic for home sports events – this is a transformational time in Badin’s history, he said.

“The excitement for this project is very positive. People are energized by the progress and the anticipation of watching the Badin Rams play on Coach Terry Malone Field and run on the Hamilton Community Foundation track.”

“With the new parking lot and the Matandy Sportsplex, our campus will be dramatically different for years to come.”

What to know

To make donations to the stadium project, those interested may contact Pendergest or Chuck McKinney at Badin High School - Bpendergest@BadinHS.org or Cmckinney@BadinHS.org - or by calling 513-863-3993 during business hours M-F, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. or online at Badin’s website.