BRYAN ISD outlines plan to rebuild Mel Green Fieldhouse, prioritize new stadium video board

Dr. Brian Merrill, BRYAN ISD deputy superintendent, told the board the Mel Green Fieldhouse will be demolished and replaced as part of Bond 2025 work and that the district intends to minimize the time student teams and programs are without the facility. He said PBK Architects was selected for the project and gave a rough cost estimate of $35,793,458 for a roughly 43,000‑square‑foot facility that will include locker rooms, weight rooms, coach offices, training areas, multipurpose space and AV systems.

Merrill said the fieldhouse project rose to the top of the bond list because the district must build the new facility on the existing site, which will require a period during which the school community is without that fieldhouse. “We wanted to come in and just remind everyone a little bit of the project,” Merrill said, noting staff are working with school and athletic leaders to reduce disruption and finalize locker‑room and game‑day planning.

Board member Ruthie Waller pressed staff to confirm that locker rooms and other support spaces would serve non‑football sports and female athletes. “When you say locker rooms ... I want to remind everyone that there’s girls sports, too,” Waller said. Merrill and staff said the design and programming work will include all end users — coaches, CTE leads, drill‑team sponsors and others — so the facility serves classroom needs as well as competitions.

Because the existing stadium video board is attached to the current fieldhouse, staff said the district plans to prioritize construction of a replacement video board so teams and performing groups are not left without that functionality during construction. PBK Sports was asked to propose location options and programming; staff said building the video board early would allow the district to keep Friday‑night lights, band halftime activities and other events on site.

Staff described plans for stakeholder engagement including campus focus groups, student input and field trips to examine other fieldhouses. Merrill said schematic design is in the early stages and that detailed construction documents are not expected until later in the summer. He cautioned typical construction uncertainties — weather and other factors — but said the district aims to limit the number of seasons without the fieldhouse.

The presentation was informational; no formal vote or funding authorization took place at the meeting. The board asked staff to return with design schematics, site options and recommended construction/timing plans for approval.