Plans unveiled for new athletic facility in Monett

$10 million fundraising effort expected in coming year for school district looking to expand offerings
 
Fundraising efforts are intensifying to build an indoor athletic facility that will serve as a hub for most sports activities in Monett.
Official word of plans to build a new kind of building to house Monett High School sports surfaced at the Monett school board’s October meeting. It was reported a committee met on Oct. 2 and discussed fundraising.
Unofficially, Monett High School head football coach Ben Mauk, who was hired in January 2024, has been talking up the idea for more than a year.
“When I came down for an interview, I was very impressed with the facilities in Monett,” Mauk said. “I saw room for improvements, too.”
Mauk observed the high school landscapes in the modern era have expanded beyond the traditional football stadiums and gyms. Even in southwest Missouri, school districts are building indoor facilities. Mauk pointed to examples in Neosho, Carl Junction and Rogersville, noting Republic plans to build one in the spring.
Mauk initially described the concept to MHS athletic director Ty Goetz and Superintendent Mark Drake. What has since developed calls for a multi-level enclosed building big enough for football scrimmages, with room for soccer, a movable volleyball court, a training and weight room, 80 lockers and showers for athletics, plus a second locker room with 40 lockers, a team meeting room, and a players’ lounge to gather between practices.
“At its peak, the building would be about 65 to 67 feet tall, not like a dome,” Mauk said. “It wouldn’t be big enough to put a track in there. Others have done walking tracks on the upper levels that are more expensive.”
Mauk’s vision calls for placing the facility on the field between Burl Fowler Stadium where the history Jaycees Athletic Field had been located, where Monett played its games from the early 1930s until the football field was finished in 1968. In more recent years, the space has been referred to as the high school practice field. Past MHS athletes told Mauk that space was supposed to be dedicated for athletic use. The more recent addition of a playground for Monett Intermediate School impinged on that space.
“We can’t even practice on the field now, because of the divots.” Mauk said.
Mauk’s vision would complement the present athletic facilities and leave the parking lot intact.

Cost around $10 million for build
Such an indoor complex would cost around $10 million. Similar facilities in Nixa and Republic are expected to cost $16 million to as much as $28 million.
The idea for such a facility in Monett has a deeper local foundation. Mauk reported Steel Tech, the firm that leased the former Olympia Foundry facility from the city and has built a second operations center on Lowe’s Lane behind the Lowe’s store, markets and builds such complexes.
“We’ve got a lot of industry and business here,” Mauk said. “If people could go to a facility like this, people would move here. Steel Tech could fly people in to show it to customers. It could catapult the local economy.”
The key to the undertaking remains private fundraising, rather than school tax dollars, similar to the way artificial turf was placed at Burl Fowler Stadium, on what is now Kenley Richardson Field.
“We have to raise money for this to advance,” Mauk said. “Local businessmen drew up an itemized list of what we’ll need. Talks started to get pretty serious then.”
Steering this effort, the indoor facility committee, as it was referred to in the Monett school board packet, is made up of around 10 people whom Mauk described as “business owners, people connected to industry, football alumni, and the school administration,” specifically Goetz and Mauk. The timeline to raise the needed funds, Mauk said, is “as soon as possible.”
“Monett’s football program is trending upward,” Mauk said. “We had 100 kids out this year. We had a good season. We were four or five plays away from being 10-1 or 9-2. As we go deeper into the playoffs, kids are coming back. Presently, gym space is eaten up by winter sports. A facility like this would give us a place to work.
“Bass Pro in Springfield hosts a Tournament of Champions in Springfield. We could do a similar event in the summer in football with big school teams from Texas and elsewhere. They did it in Ohio. We could put one together with a facility like that and draw a lot of supporters to town.”
The project offers the potential for many naming rights, such as the indoor field, the weight room, and locker rooms.
“I think about the businesses in town that do work all over the country,” Mauk said. “I thought it was cool when dads would show towns and say, ‘Grandpa worked there’ or ‘Your dad helped build that.’ This would be like that.
“It’s really big for our kids. I think the benefits greatly outweigh the costs. The amount of things you can bring in with it would be pretty special,” he added.
Persons interested in learning more or donating can contact Mauk via email at gmauk@monettschools.org.