New, $35M Delmar Fieldhouse a sparkling addition for HISD
New Delmar facility addresses upgrades overdue in HISD
Marmion Dambrino couldn’t see the look on her own face, but the hundreds of Houston ISD administrators, teachers, coaches and students who packed one side of the arena couldn’t miss it.
There stood Dambrino, the athletic director for the largest school district in Texas and the eighth largest in the United States, just off the podium near the baseline at center court. She listened as one dignitary after another beamed at the reality in front of them. HISD, which continues to fight with perception in addition to behind-the-times realities in competing with their suburban and richer neighbors, has the shiniest toy on the education and athletic block.
And Dambrino is the proud mama, helping spearhead the new 5,000-seat Delmar Fieldhouse, a $35.3 million arena that opened to the public Friday. It replaced a 55-year-old facility as part of the 2012 voter-approved $1.89 billion bond package. The same bond will replace or repair 40 schools and allowed for improvements to three HISD stadiums.
“We are overdue,” Dambrino said. “Our kids are just as, if not more, deserving to
have a nice and new facility.”
The Houston area isn’t without state-of-the-art athletic facilities.
But until now, they all reside outside of the Sam Houston Tollway.
Clear Creek ISD debuted Challenger Columbia Stadium ($39.1 million) in March. New Caney ISD opened Texan Drive Stadium ($20 million) in 2014.
Cy-Fair ISD’s Berry Center ($84 million) opened in 2006 and has both a stadium and arena. Katy ISD’s Merrell Center ($25 million) was completed the year before and the fast-growing district is currently building a second stadium with a cost that has surpassed $70 million.
Next summer, Alvin ISD expects to complete a $41 million stadium.
“What you see here is what we want for every student in every segment of every corner of our city,” HISD superintendent Richard Carranza said. “We want the same kind of facilities, where students can learn, where they can grow, where they can push themselves and become the citizens of tomorrow right here in Houston.”
Source of pride
Before Friday, HISD’s newest field house was Barnett (built in the early 1980s). HISD acquired Cowart Stadium and the Pavilion when it took over North Forest ISD, but both facilities needed plenty of maintenance and upgrades. Leaks were common at old Delmar, as were air currents if it was windy enough outside.
HISD had little leverage when it came to negotiating home sites come playoff time and an even lesser appeal for suburban schools to come play in tournaments.
The once-blockbuster HISD basketball tournament no longer features top schools outside the district.
“Our kids don’t have to go to other facilities now and wish they had something like this,” said Sam Houston boys coach Ralph Berreras, whose Tigers played Westside in the new arena’s inaugural game. “I’m so proud of our school board and HISD voters for having this vision. We’re all just extremely proud to be a part of HISD today.”
The facility has six dressing rooms, with conference space in both football locker rooms.
There’s a regulation floor (84 feet) which can expand by 10 feet to meet NCAA dimensions. The two jewels inside are the Houston skyline proudly displayed along one baseline and the center court logo from old Delmar now hanging above the entrance overlooking the foyer.
The rest of Houston will soon see.
Delmar will host girls basketball playoff doubleheaders Monday and Tuesday. Expect more games to follow in the weeks leading up to the regional tournaments. Delmar then will host both the girls and boys Class 5A Region III tournaments.
Graduations also will take place at the shiny new facility, and more events could follow.
Hotbed for basketball
Dambrino and others already have fielded calls looking to rent the arena. Athletic directors from both TSU and HBU were in attendance — both the SWAC (Toyota Center) and Southland Conference (Merrell) currently hold their basketball tournaments in Houston.
Anything on the outside, however, takes a backseat to the 200,000plus students in HISD. Dambrino is making sure of that.
She can’t get anything and everything that her coaches and athletes ask for. Stipends are normally higher elsewhere, so it doesn’t surprise when a coach moves on. Uniforms aren’t always new and practice fields aren’t always in pristine shape.
But it’s not without working long hours in trying every possibility and avenue. The pacing and constant walking around Friday before the doors opened reflected the nervous energy Dambrino had from lack of sleep and the hope that others would be as proud as she is.
She watched old Delmar go down and new Delmar go up from her department’s old offices — athletics is now in the fieldhouse. And every day she walked over and watched the progress.
“It’s not a facility competition,” Dambrino said. “It’s providing an environment for kids to feel that they are valued in what they are doing.”