HAMILTON — Badin High School took another prominent step in turning a long-awaited dream of having an on-campus athletics stadium into a reality.
“Building a Brighter Badin” began in earnest today with the official groundbreaking ceremony for the Lanni Family Stadium at Matandy Sports Complex.
“This is a day we have been waiting for at Badin High School for nearly 60 years — the opportunity to have our own stadium,” said Badin President Brian Pendergest, a 1990 graduate. “Our donors have been generous and we are blessed to be moving forward with this tremendous project.”
The stadium build, under the direction of Conger ConstructionGroup of Lebanon, will move forward in two phases behind the co-ed Catholic high school on New London Road in Hamilton.
Phase 1 will include two fields — the stadium field as well as a practice field just west of the stadium. Both are full synthetic playing fields. Also included will be an all-weather competition track around the stadium field, locker rooms, restrooms, a concession stand, press box, home-side bleachers, scoreboard and lighting.
Phase 2 will include everything east of the track — visitor bleachers, an additional concession stand and restrooms, as well as an east-side entrance to the stadium from the school’s upper parking lot, an alumni meeting room and maintenance building.
“This is a $15 million undertaking,” Pendergest said. “We still need about $3 million to complete the project. We are confident that while we are in the process of Phase 1, our benefactors will donate the funds that allow us to fully complete the project in a timely fashion.”
Other aspects of the “Build A Brighter Badin” project include a Military and First Responders Memorial around the flag pole in front of the school, as well as a grotto to the Virgin Mary at a site to be determined. Both of these enhancements are being separately financed by alumni families.
Pendergest noted that Badin has made significant improvements to its facilities for the past two decades — first with the $3 million Pfirman Family Activity Center in 2005, and then with the $2 million Student Development Center in 2020 that connected the main building with the Pfirman Center.
“We’re always looking for ways to improve the product that we’re offering to students and their families,” Pendergest said. “This, obviously, is a game-changer for us.”
Badin, which opened in the fall of 1966, has played at a number of stadiums over the years. Football would typically play Saturday home games at Garfield Stadium on Fair Avenue in Hamilton. When that stadium became soccer-only, Badin football moved to Hamilton High’s Schwarm Stadium and soccer remained at Garfield Stadium until the opening of Fairwood Elementary School on that site in 2009.
Along with Schwarm Stadium, home football games have been played at Fairfield Alumni Stadium, Edgewood’s Kumler Field and even Monroe High School. Soccer most recently has held their home games at the Spooky Nook Sports Complex on B Street in Hamilton.
“We’ve always been traveling, even to our home games,” Pendergest noted. “Scheduling has gotten more difficult over the years. The opportunity for our teams to walk on the hill and play games on our own field will inaugurate a new era of excellence for our student-athletes.”
Preliminary work on the stadium project has already involved a new parking lot to the west of the school on New London Road. The lot totals 346 parking spots and was created by purchasing four houses along New London and one on Jerdan Lane. Because of lighting and drainage requirements, cost for that improvement was $3 million.
“There are obviously a lot of details involved, but the project has gone smoothly,” Pendergest said. “There is a lot still to be done, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel — and that light is a bright future of home events for Badin High School teams.”
Pendergest said that Badin would be playing its home football and soccer games at the new complex during the fall of 2025 — Week 3 looks like the probable football opener — and that if all goes well, there might even be the opportunity for a home track meet in the spring of 2025.
This story will be updated.
