ROSSFORD— When a couple hundred people toured Rossford School’s new 73,600 square-foot multi-use building at its ribbon cutting and open house Friday, they saw something you don’t find in many school districts across Northwest Ohio.

Going even further, they found something you don’t find at many school districts across the nation.

“This is what success looks like,” said Rossford Mayor Neil A. MacKinnon III. “Look where we were, look where we are, and look where we are going.

“We’re doing something here that is not being done anywhere else in the country, and that is we are lowering our millage and creating venues like this for our students and our future students. Bravo.”

Photo by Matt Thompson

The building features a huge letter “R” over the main entrance and the Rossford Bulldogs logo on the outside.

James Rossler, Rossford treasurer, unveils the dedication plaque.

Photo by Matt Thompson

Photo by Matt Thompson

The new multi-use facility was unveiled on Friday.

The facility, built by Rudoph Libbe Inc., is located at 28600 Lime City Road, just north of Ohio 795 and adjacent to Rossford Elementary School.

The building features a huge letter “R” over the main entrance and the Rossford Bulldogs logo on the outside.

It will be used for a new STEM classroom space with the ability for expanded growth of Rossford’s STEM programing and a new e-sports program space with cutting edge resources and experiences for team building.

For sports team training, the facility has an approximately 50-yard artificial turf field to provide indoor training space for athletics.

It provides practice space for the marching band during cold weather. Also: golf simulators, batting cages, a three-lane track and cardio workout space. Set up during the open house were volleyball and tennis courts.

“The real magic of this is not the building itself,” Rossford Superintendent Dan Creps said. “It’s when we invite everybody in — community, especially our students and our staff. Once they are able to see this and use this as a resource, that is the real magic of this building.”

School board president Dawn Burks added, ““When you get the opportunity to go through this facility, it is amazing.

“As a former athlete and being able to see the opportunities for our students, for our community, this is going to be something that just takes our district to the next level.

“This is a community and district-wide initiative and commitment to everything that we’ve been trying to do for our students. That’s what it comes down to is ‘for our students.’”

School officials say no new tax dollars were needed for its construction. The majority of funding came from enterprise zone agreements.

Creps said multiple partners made it happen, including a facilities commission, The Collaborative, and school district treasurer James Rossler Jr.

“The facilities commission put in countless hours, time and dedication to make the really unpopular decisions, and the popular ones, accept all the praise, and also the criticism, which is no small thing,” Creps said.

“The Collaborative — for taking the vision of the board, the community and those people, turning it into this just spectacular design that is innovative and student suited.”

Rossler and his family were given the task of unveiling an outdoor plaque dedicating the building.

“Jamie Rossler — his humility will not allow him to brag or talk about how great he is, but I’m here to tell you that this project would not have been feasible, would not have been able to be completed without the expertise and the knowledge, the experience, and the skill of our treasurer Jamie Rossler.

“He’s an unsung hero. He’s been here for over 30 years. He’s done amazing things. This is just the latest and greatest. He’s also assembled just an outstanding team. I’ve got to tell you he does just so many things that people just aren’t aware of.”

State Rep. Haraz Ghanbari, R-Perrysburg, brought a commendation from the Ohio House of Representatives, 135th General Assembly, to the ribbon cutting signed by the Speaker of the House and himself, and Sen. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green, brought a President’s Letter from the Ohio Senate.

Ghanbari believes the facility is a sign of revitalization.

“Our family goes to church every week right down here at Cedar Creek, and every time we drive down this road the kids are always excited and amazed to see the revitalization going on in this area. This is becoming an anchor of this community,” Ghanbari said.

Gavarone, who was also present at the groundbreaking, credited the vision that went into the facility.

“I remember that groundbreaking and learning about the vision for this day (ribbon cutting), and to be here today and think about what went into this — the forward thinking and how that is really going to serve as a launchpad for success for the students who attend here,” Gavarone said.

“I mean, it’s really incredible. Hearing what is going to go on in here with the STEM learning, and the e-sports, and I’ve heard even drone races. It’s absolutely remarkable.”