Athens High School

This fall, student-athletes at Athens competed on a new, cutting-edge synthetic turf football field featuring an updated Red Hawk logo. In addition, the new tennis courts hosted both spring and fall matches. The track surface was also updated and ready for use by track and field athletes last spring.

This fall, crews also installed new synthetic turf baseball and softball fields, which teams will have the opportunity to use beginning in the spring of 2026.

The design phase for Athens High School began in January 2024. After in-depth discussions with our partners at Barton Malow and TMP, and learning from our recent work at Smith Middle School, it is clear that the proposed schedule to begin construction at Athens in the May of 2026 is not optimal to provide sufficient time to procure competitive construction bids and proactively coordinate with the City of Troy and the State of Michigan.

To ensure a well-planned and efficient project, we are adjusting the timeline. We anticipate breaking ground on the new Athens addition in early Spring 2027, with completion expected in Summer 2029. This revised timeline positions us to be good stewards of community resources while ensuring high-quality results.

Key reasons for this decision include:

• Allowing more time to fully review design and bid documents, reducing the likelihood of change orders.

• Improving our ability to attract competitive bids by going out to bid in Fall 2026 for a Spring 2027 start.

• Providing the necessary time to navigate city and state permitting and other complexities associated with large construction projects.