CB’s Plans for Future Expansion

As Christian Brothers’ new theater comes nearer to completion, CB Administrators set their eyes on possible future projects.

Christian Brothers’ need for a new and improved performing arts complex becomes more of a reality every day. With the theater becoming a worry of the past for members of CB, many students and faculty members look forward to other facility improvements in the near future.

Christian Brothers’ President Mr. Lorcan Barnes gave the Talon an idea of what projects will become priorities of the CB Administrators in years to come.

Mr. Barnes made it clear that though the completion of the theater is highly probable, it is not guaranteed. Unless the school is stricken with an unforeseeable and disastrous problem, the theater complex will be completed.

One minor hiccup lies within the construction process. Christian Brothers has raised $3 million in cash and $2.6 million in personal pledges, which falls $1 million short of the $6.6 million goal. That difference will be borrowed from a separate fund outside of CB. Over time, Christian Brothers will be required to repay the $1 million loan.

Mr. Barnes states that funding for the theater will come from friends and alumni of CB as well as from the school’s operating budget. These sources were almost completely dried up through the economic recession of the last 5 years and made the completion of the theater a dubious prospect. However, Mr. Barnes is confident that these boosters will be dependable in the near future.

However, the Administration at CB never stops working and will continue to evaluate the needs of CB despite the construction of the theater project.

“This spring we will begin the process of evaluating facilities priorities for the next few years” Mr. Barnes informed the Talon.

Though there are no concrete ideas up for discussions, the school’s President predicts that athletic facilities, the chapel, the library, and lavatories will be topics at the forefront of the spring meetings.

The issue of renovating athletics facilities strikes great intrigue across the CB community. HIgh schools around the nation are increasingly upgrading to all-weather turf and tracks, and are finding great advantages in the switch.

All-weather facilities have the potential to pay dividends to Christian Brothers over the life of the turf. In Sacramento County, where water is sparse and prices are likely to rise, artificial turf will alleviate CB of the costs of watering the field.

Furthermore, turf offers versatility in that teams may play during and directly after storms. Also, the quality of the turf remains constant as numerous teams trample over it each season. For example, women’s soccer would find the field just as the football team would had found it months before.

“We have made no decisions, but I think that all-weather turf and track will be a priorities in the next three to six years,” Mr. Barnes stated in an excited tone.

But though turf is a real possibility, the installation of flood lights is likely not in the cards for Christian Brothers’ athletes at any point in the foreseeable future.

Mr. Barnes believes that though the lights would be beneficial to a plethora of CB teams and clubs, the project may be hindered by a lack of cooperation from surrounding landowners and tenants, as has been the experience of other area high schools.

Whether these ideas will become reality for members of Christian Brothers is unsure, but the CB community can rest assured that its administrators and Board of Trustees will put forth every effort to improve campus life.