“The parking lot is completed and that was phase one of this whole project and now we hope to start moving some dirt this winter on the stadium project,” said Badin President Brian Pendergest.
“And it does provide us with much-needed parking for events here … having a lot of extra parking for boys and girls’ basketball games or (theatre) plays or other events. It’s definitely beneficial,” said Pendergest.
The private Hamilton high school is undergoing its most significant campus changes since the school opened in 1966.
In 2022 Badin officials proposed and won approval from the city of Hamilton allowing them to purchase and re-zone the land for the 343-space parking lot.
And now, ground will soon be broken on the 2,400-seat stadium, sports field, track and athletic complex and its adjacent practice field that will include the former parking lot.
School officials are planning to open the stadium in spring of 2025 with first-time ever track meets and other spring semester sporting events being conducted on campus rather than at other, contracted school venues in the area.
“The reason the parking had to be done first was because to have that seating capacity for the stadium, we have to have a certain number of parking spots before we could move on with the project.”
Many of the school’s more than 700 students, who are not bused but travel in cars from throughout Butler County and beyond, said they welcome the change.
“I’m glad it’s bigger (and) so less traffic. It looks nice – they did a very good job with it,” said Badin senior Ellie Green.
“And I’m excited for what it means for Badin, we can accommodate more students. And the new stadium project is very exciting,” said Green.
Fellow senior A.J. Sackenheim said “I understand the reasoning behind it. And with the construction beginning on the new stadium, it’s a good system to eliminate traffic.”
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