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For several years, Cincinnati Christian schools had discussed building a state-of-the-art football stadium with synthetic turf and a track oval. Until this fall, the proposed $3.5 million project was little more than "just talk," Athletic Director Matt Coleman said.

But in November, an anonymous donation of $1 million jump-started the fundraising campaign. CCS has since raised more than $500,000 and hopes to begin construction this summer, Superintendent Dan Bragg said.

"This project is not just a pie in the sky. We're off to a really good start," Bragg said. "We only have 30 acres in our property. We need something that will have multi-use. We will keep it very busy, with junior high and high school soccer, football, kid programs."

Currently, outdoor sports at CCS rely upon local sites — the Lakota Freshman school, Joyce Park, Waterworks Park, CCS Elementary, to name a few — for practice and games.

"It's difficult, because you're at the mercy of others," Coleman said. "All the boosters have to transport the equipment — the hot dog warmers, the popcorn machines, the drinks, the coolers — to the various fields. It takes a couple big vans."

Bragg said that construction of the new facility may begin before the school's fundraising campaign reaches its $3.5 million target.

"If we don't get the $3.5 million, we can phase it. Is there a way to build the field without the track around it, or not put the bleachers up, or the lights up? We want something to happen," Bragg said. "The people who have given or the potential donors, they expect something to happen soon."

The proposed site is on a hill behind the junior high/high school building on Morris Road in Hamilton.

"A good share of our 30 acres is a rolling hill," Bragg said. "It's real pretty; but it may be expensive to do all that excavating."

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