Winter 2011 - K-Space Web Page - Central Catholic High School

e Baseball Complex in South ToledoDesign Group is the architect for this project,and the builder is Rudolph Libbe, the samecompany that constructed the GallagherAthletic Complex. Construction will becomplete in time for the 2012 spring baseballseason.The facility will incorporate United StatesGreen Building Council recommendationsand Sustainable Design elements such asa high efficient HVAC system, minimizingusage of electric power, water efficiency,improved indoor environmental quality,stewardship of resources, and sensitivity touse of local building materials. The projectwill also include installation of wind turbinesto generate electricity. The facility is designedto be welcoming as well as flexible for futureexpansions or alterations. The projectdeveloper is in conversations with sponsorsand advertisers for naming rights.Attractive LocationStrategically, this is the first Central Catholicfacility that will be located outside of campus,but its location is really a plus for CentralCatholic. Conveniently located minutes fromI-475 off Airport Highway and adjacent to theMonsignor Schmit CYO playing fields, whichattract tens of thousands of annual visitors,this new facility promises to have very highvisibility throughout Northwest Ohio andSoutheast Michigan.A careful study by Coach Mielcarek revealedthat 70% of the time our students do notgo directly from the CCHS campus to thebaseball field. They often go home fromschool first and then attend practice or agame several hours later, or they competeon weekends or during the summer andcome from home anyway. There has neverbeen a baseballfield located oncampus, and whenthe players havegone directly to thefield after school,they have hadto walk to Joe E.Brown. The newfacility will just bea convenient driveon I-475 away.Not Just About BaseballCleves Delp wants to stress that this baseballstadium project is not about him, but it isabout Central Catholic High School. Threegenerations of his family, including hisparents, siblings, aunts and uncles, those ofhis wife, Kathy (Lenkay) Delp ’86, and theirchildren, have attended Central Catholicbecause it is the finest setting for a Catholicbased education in Toledo.“This is a continuation of the Renaissanceof Central Catholic that started 10 years agowith the Gallagher Athletic Complex,” heexplains. “Student laptops, the InternationalBaccalaureate program, over $55 million incollege scholarships for our students over thelast four years – these are all unique initiativesfor CCHS. While others are wondering howto do it, Central Catholic IS doing it anddoing it without debt.”Adds Jesse MacDonald, “It’s great to beinvolved in this project. Even the golf andtennis players that I coach are going to benefitfrom this facility because it’s not just aboutbaseball. It’s about continuing the positivegrowth of Central Catholic. No other highschool matches the academics and athletics atCentral Catholic, and this project will meangreat things for the school.”As for the baseball program itself, JeffMielcarek says, “I am very excited about thisproject. It’s going to be so awesome for theCentral Catholic baseball program, players,coaches, and families. It is also going to be agreat addition to all of baseball in NorthwestOhio. There will not be another facility forhigh school baseball in the entire midwestthat can rival what we will have at CentralCatholic.”Complex Features:• Field turf artificial playing surface• Lights which will allow for night gamesand practices• Press box• A suite for 12 people• Concession stand• Restrooms• Four hitting cages• Double bullpen mounds• Locker rooms• Study room for students with Internetcapability• Coaches’ office• Umpire locker room• Observation area for scouts behindhome plate• Scoreboard• Bleacher seating for 440 spectators• Two picnic terraces• Mound (grass area) seating• A beautiful natural hitting backdrop• Dugouts• Sound system