Upgrades coming for IPS middle school athletics
Indianapolis Public Schools middle school students across the district will soon have athletic facilities on par with those at the high schools, as the district applies some of the money earned through its capital referendum to spruce up campuses.
Work started Tuesday on the athletic fields and main school building at the former Broad Ripple High School to prepare the campus’ transition to a middle school for next school year. The building also houses the north campus of Purdue Polytechnic High School.
District leaders celebrated the kickoff of a yearslong plan to renovate and update 23 schools thanks to the passage of last year’s $410 million capital referendum.
The improvements align with the district’s Rebuilding Stronger plan, which aims to revamp the district’s middle school experience by providing more equitable access to school programming like athletic offerings.
“For a lot of kids, sports are the reason they love coming to school,” said IPS superintendent Aleesia Johnson. “…The capital projects kicking off this spring will make sure that every kid in every neighborhood has a safe, welltended athletic field to practice on to build skills that so many of us rely on as adults: teamwork, perseverance, resilience, self-confidence, and friendship.”
The majority of the district’s middle schools will get amenities such as new turf fields and updated lighting and sound systems.
The changes will give middle school students access to most of the sports offered at the high school level, said Darren Thomas, IPS’ director of athletics.
“Now along with more offerings, our awesome athletics teams will be able to expand our middle school seasons to provide more substantial developmental opportunities for our studentathletes and help them better prepare for high school sports and beyond,” Thomas said.
The goal is to have all of the middle school athletic field renovations finished by the fall to accommodate fall sports, Thomas said.
The district plans to finish the other
construction projects by summer 2026.
Rosie Meek, a seventh grader at CFI School 84, said on Tuesday that she was excited about all the changes coming to Broad Ripple.
After this year, her school will stop after fifth grade, so Meek and many of her classmates will move to Broad Ripple for eighth grade.
“It’s really exciting because we’ve never had it before, so it’s just like the opportunity for us and it’s also going to help us get ready for like high school and meeting new friends because we don’t have this at our other school,” said Meek, who plays softball, soccer, basketball and cross country.
Broad Ripple will see a new turf football field, a new turf softball practice field, a new track and better sound and lighting for the athletic fields.
The athletic field upgrades at Broad Ripple will cost around $6 million, with the total cost of changes to the campus coming to around $39.8 million.
Other updates coming to Broad Ripple Middle School include improved security through card access and cameras, new exterior doors and new lighting and stage curtains.
Arlington Middle School
Arlington Middle School will receive the largest amount of capital referendum dollars, with construction costs of around $66 million.
Arlington will serve as a STEM middle school program. In addition to upgrades for the softball and baseball field, the improvements will include:
New large parking lot in front of the
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building.
A new classroom wing
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A new media center
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A new family resource center to
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connect IPS families with direct or referral-based services to access basic needs and support.
New tennis court
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Thomas Carr Howe Middle School
The former Thomas Carr Howe High
School building, which has sat empty since 2020, will open as an International Baccalaureate middle school.
The athletic improvements at Howe will cost around $6.8 million, with the total renovations amounting to around $39.8 million.
The school will see a new turf football field, new softball and baseball fields, a milled and resurfaced track, and grandstand improvements as well as increased security through card access and cameras.
Harshman Middle School
Harshman Middle School will share the building with the district’s highability and dual language programs.
The new athletic fields for Harshman will cost around $2.8 million.
Longfellow Middle School
Longfellow Middle School will be an IB world school starting next school year.
The construction of the new practice football field at Longfellow will cost around $1.8 million. In addition, the school will see a new natural football field, new scoreboard, new bleachers and new straightaway track.
Northwest Middle School
Northwest Middle school will be an IB world school next school year.
The athletic upgrades for the Northwest campus will cost around $6.8 million with the total cost of improvements to the whole campus around $44 million. The school will receive new steelsupported aluminum grandstands with pressbox, a new synthetic turf softball field, and new synthetic turf baseball field among other upgrades.
William Penn School 49 Middle School
The William Penn School 49 will house the district’s STEM middle school offering and is the only middle school option not to get athletic facilities upgrades because the school sits next to Rhodius Park.
William Penn will receive around $9.5 million in renovations including improved science classrooms and increased security through card access and cameras.
Contact IndyStar reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett. com. Follow her on Twitter: @CarolineB_Indy .
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