CHESAPEAKE — Demolition started this week on the Chesapeake football field as plans continue on a new athletic complex for the school district.

Last month the board of education chose MSA Sports of Cincinnati as the architect for the complex. MSA was one of three semi-finalists for the project; the others were Fanning-Howey of Dublin and TSHD Architects of Portsmouth. Mark Tanner of TSHD had drawn up the preliminary plans that were presented at the initial public meeting that determined how the complex would be funded.

“(The choice was made) as a board through a process,” Jerry Osborne, board member, said. “MSA Sports was the one that we awarded. They seemed to be eager and were excited about working with us and we are looking forward to them doing a good job.”

This fall the board voted unanimously to move 2 mills from the district’s 4.5 inside millage used for operating expenses to permanent improvements. That will partially fund the project to renovate the football field and track at the high school.

MSA Sports, which has offices in Cincinnati and Columbus, specializes in K-12 school construction, including sports facilities.

“If you think about (the facility) as a classroom, student athletes learn life lessons from coaches and mentors,” said Bill Baker, MSA main architect for the project. “It is a place where there is interacting with other people, team work, how you handle victory and defeat. We don’t think of these projects as turf and light. In Ironton, Tanks Stadium, that is a legendary place in the heart of your community.”

Right now, the architectural firm is in the preliminary design phase, taking in the wish lists of school officials and community members serving on a special advisory committee. Included in that work is site layout and site survey.

“We are looking for a new stadium and hope to have a turf field for soccer and football,” Osborne said. “New restrooms are needed really badly and new concession stands for visitors and home.

That community committee has volunteered to handle as much of the demolition as possible, Osborne said. Already those volunteers have started taking out the bleachers.

“That will save us literally thousands of dollars and we will put that back into the project,” the school board member said.

A preliminary package could be put out to bid by mid to late winter, the architect said.

On Monday, Jan. 9, the school board will meet to go over the status of the project. That meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at the Chesapeake Middle School.

“It is going well,” Baker said. “It is a good community group, a good board to work with.”