New Albany‑Plain Local board authorizes moving forward with lease for roughly 49‑acre athletic campus

The New Albany‑Plain Local School District Board of Education on July 9 authorized district officials to finalize a lease for a roughly 49‑acre city‑owned parcel to be used for a multi‑phase athletic complex.

Superintendent Michael Sawyer told the board the agreement follows “a long journey” of negotiations with the city and legal review. “This actually authorizes the lease to move forward,” he said, summarizing the recommendation and the campus master‑plan tie‑in.

The first phase described by the superintendent includes baseball and softball fields, a batting facility, concessions, restrooms and press boxes. Sawyer said the arrangement follows a city council resolution approving the lease framework and that the district will be the lessee while the city remains the landlord.

The board debated the motion and then took a roll call vote; all members present voted to approve the authorization and the motion carried. One member was recorded absent. The record did not specify lease term, rental amount, or other financial terms.

Board members and the superintendent characterized the lease approval as the next procedural step in a project that staff have been planning through the campus master plan. The district will return with contract documents for execution by authorized officials (the board president, vice president and treasurer, as noted in the recommendation) and for any required follow‑up approvals.

The board did not hear public comment on the lease at this meeting and did not provide detailed cost or funding breakdowns in the presentation.