With an Aug. 13 opening in sight, construction on the athletic facilities at Castaic High School is nearing the finish line.
At the south end of the main building sits a newly minted football field, complete with a track that will be striped next week. At the far end of the field a scoreboard stands with the words “Home of the Castaic Coyotes.”
Off to the side of the track, behind a fence, is an area designated for field events like discus and shot put. One side of the field sits a hill with newly scattered plants and the other side is where bleachers will be installed in the coming weeks.
Behind the gridiron, a softball field is near completion, with bleachers, dugouts and a scoreboard already built. Another softball field is directly in front of it and adjacent to the track.
Near the central part of campus behind the academic buildings, two baseball fields sit side-by-side, accompanied by bleachers, dugouts, scoreboards with the Coyotes’ logo and a bullpen next to each dugout.
In between the softball fields and baseball fields is a large dirt patch awaiting the installation of grass. That area will be divided into several fields to be used as soccer fields and recreational fields, according to one of the project managers.
Near the second baseball field, six tennis courts are near completion, with only the nets and court lines missing.
Behind the gym, eight outdoor basketball courts have been built with 16 total hoops, all equipped with new netting.
The gym features two basketball courts and eight total hoops along with two scoreboards. The bleachers, which will be able to seat more than 1,000 spectators, are retractable and have “Castaic” written on one set and “Coyotes” on the other. Most of the hardwood has been installed, but there are a few areas that still need to be completed.
There is direct access to both the boys and girls locker rooms from the gym that are filled with lockers painted in the school colors: charcoal grey, white and burnt orange.
The locker rooms have spaces for offices, medical areas and storage spaces, as well as bathrooms and showers. The gym also features a dance room with mirrors and a weight room.
The athletic teams will start with only freshmen and will not field any varsity teams in the first year.
According to one of the project managers, all the athletic facilities are scheduled to be ready for use by the time the school opens its doors.
Castaic was awarded a $126.2 million contract back in October of 2016.