LEXINGTON — The Lexington athletic booster club feels like celebrating — and with good reason.
The organization recently paid off the multi-sport complex that sits adjacent to the high school. Construction of the facility began in 2004 and was completed the following year.
“The project cost just south of $700,000 and no taxpayer money was used to finance it,” booster club president Jon Stierhoff said. “We did it all through fundraising and with private donations.”
The two-story building houses a 3,000 square foot weight room and a 5,000 square foot multi-purpose room with an artificial surface. It includes batting cages for the baseball and softball programs.
“There was some concern when the facility was built that it would be football-specific,” Stierhoff said. “This truly is an all-sports facility. All of our students, not just athletes, benefit from the weight room and the baseball and softball programs find it especially useful. When the weather is bad outside, they can be indoors hitting and fielding.”
Lexington won nine straight Ohio Cardinal Conference all-sports trophies from 2004-05 to 2012-13. Ashland snapped the streak last year, edging Lex by 1.5 points.
“The way high school sports are going, you need a facility like this to be competitive,” Stierhoff said. “In that regard, I think we were a little ahead of the curve.”
The booster club will show its appreciation at Friday’s final home boys basketball game when Lexington hosts Ashland.
“We are selling 25 cent hot dogs and we’re giving away cookies and popcorn,” he said. “This project couldn’t have been completed without the help of so many people in the community. This is our small way of saying thanks.”
