School Board Approves Joining Missouri River Activities Conference and New Football Stadium

(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Community Board of Education had two major decisions to make Wednesday evening during its regular bi-monthly meeting. The first issue was to decide if Le Mars Community would want to leave the Lakes Conference and followup on the invitation to join the Missouri River Activities Conference. The Missouri River Activities Conference includes Sioux City North, East, West, and Bishop Heelan along with Sergeant Bluff. In addition, it also includes two schools from Council Bluffs, Abe Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson. Le Mars
Community school board unanimously approved joining the Missouri River Activities Conference beginning with the year 2019. School Board president Todd Lancaster explains why Le Mars Community decided to change conferences.

Lancaster says once the school board learned all the facts, he says it became a much easier decision.

The school board president explained some of the reasons that drove the decision to leave the Lakes Conference in favor of the Missouri River Activities Conference.

Lancaster noted the change of conferences will not be much different for our competitive sports schedules of the past few years.

Lancaster noted for many sports, Le Mars Community already plays Bishop Heelan and Sergeant Bluff, and the Sioux City schools have competed against Le Mars Community for basketball and track. School superintendent, Dr. Steven Webner
reminded the board members one of the stipulations to joining the Missouri River Activities Conference would require Le Mars to begin offering soccer as a competitive sport.

Plans for the proposed new football stadium were also discussed at last evening’s school board meeting. The school board approved the plans to move ahead with the project. The new stadium is estimated to cost $4.6 million dollars. Brent Koch, an architect with the firm Cannon, Moss, Brygger and Associates met with the board last evening to go over cost estimates, diagrams, and contractor bidding requirements and construction timetables. Koch says the construction project includes a new stadium and press box, track, and football/soccer field.

Koch says contractors will be notified almost immediately seeking bids for the project. He says bids will need to be submitted by March 21st. He offers a timetable for the awarding of the contract and the construction of the project.

Koch says with the new design, the seating capacity should increase from today’s 1700 seats to 2200 seating capacity.

School Board president, Todd Lancaster says the stadium was built in 1959, and he says it is time Le Mars upgraded the facilities. School officials say a donation of $2 million dollars has already been secured for the project.

Lancaster says, once completed, Le Mars will have one of the premier football facilities within northwest Iowa. Lancaster says the $4.6 million dollar project will be financed through the one percent SAVE sales tax. Lancaster says he has heard several positive comments from the greater community regarding the
new athletic facility.

Construction is expected to be completed by August 1st of 2019, just in time for the start of football season. In other action during last evening’s school board meeting, the directors approved the school calendar for the 2018-2019 school year. Classes are scheduled to begin on Thursday, August 23rd, and conclude on
May 22nd. The approved school year will have 1,147 hours.