ROSSFORD – The new Rossford Schools multi-purpose facility is going to be known as the R.
That name earned unanimous approval at a special board of education meeting Monday.
“It’s very exciting, I love it,” said board President Dawn Burks
“I think the kids will identify with it,” agreed board member Kent Murphree
The district received more than 130 responses to a request for names, said Superintendent Dan Creps.
Other suggestions were the Dog Pound, the Big R, the R Center and the Bulldog Center.
The facilities committee reviewed the list, Creps said.
The 73,600-square-foot facility is being built at the athletic complex near Rossford Elementary on Lime City Road at Ohio 795.
The space, which will be utilized by all grades, will provide classrooms for STEM programs and e-sports. It will have an indoor turf around 50 yards in length.
It will allow the marching band to practice inside when it is cold and offers indoor training space for baseball, softball, track, wrestling and soccer. There also will be golf simulators, batting cages and a three-lane track to provide space for relay training.
While there is a weight room at the high school, there will be additional space in the new facility for cardio.
The cost for construction and furnishing is $15.5 million to $16 million.
No new tax dollars were needed to fund the project; enterprise zone funds were used to pay for the facility.
It will be open to the community once student programming is organized.
“We definitely will be opening it to the community,” Creps said.
The building will be completed in August and there will be a ribbon cutting on Aug. 18 at 3 p.m.
