Bryan ISD officials shared an early construction timeline for the replacement of the Merrill Green Fieldhouse during an April 6 school board meeting, outlining plans tied to the district’s 2025 bond program.
The big picture
Deputy Superintendent Brian Merrell presented the proposed schedule for the nearly $35.8 million project which will replace the existing facility with a new 43,000-square-foot fieldhouse to serve athletes at Bryan and Rudder high schools.
The details
The new facility is expected to include:
- Locker rooms for high school athletes
- Weight rooms and training areas
- Multipurpose space
- Coaches’ offices
- Circulation and support areas
- An access tunnel
- A new video board and distributed sound system
Agenda materials show architecture firm PBK Sports is working with Bryan ISD to customize the building based on student and staff needs. The school board
approved a contract with the firm at a March 2 meeting.
“We are customizing this space to our students and to our staff,” a representative of the district’s construction department said. “We want them to be proud of what we have.”
Because the existing fieldhouse has to be demolished before construction begins, Merrell said students will spend at least one athletic season without access to the facility. He said temporary accommodations will be arranged for athletes during construction.
To minimize disruptions, Bryan ISD’s construction department officials said they plan to construct a new video board while demolition is underway so that the band and drill team programs can keep using the field during the transition. The goal, according to the construction department, is not to lose the stadium while athletes lose the building.
The timeline
According to the district’s preliminary schedule:
- April 2026: schematic design phase begins
- August 2026: design development is completed
- December 2026: new video board is erected
- February 2027: existing fieldhouse is demolished and construction begins
- Summer 2028: target move-in date
District officials emphasized the timeline remains tentative and could change depending on weather, construction conditions and final design decisions.
Trustees also discussed gathering stakeholder input and visiting facilities in the Houston area as part of the planning process.
Also on the agenda
The fieldhouse update was one of several informational items discussed during the meeting, which also included district funding challenges tied to declining enrollment and attendance.