On Fridays, both girls’ and boys’ Ultimate Frisbee have captains practice on the high school field and will now have to share the smaller space, according to senior Daniel Hunegs.

“(The boys’ and girls’ teams) usually split the space and I think both teams get the amount of space they want,” Hunegs said. “Now that there is a fence in the field it is going to make it a lot harder and we are just going to have to cooperate more. Maybe it will mean we do more things together, which I think both teams are interested in.”

According to athletic director Andrew Ewald, the fence went up May 16 in the high school field because of the upcoming construction.

“The fence is a safety fence to keep people out from the construction area and to keep the construction area safe,” Ewald said. “The construction in there will be the new fitness center.  I think they will be (breaking ground) in the next week or so.”

Ewald said the fitness center will not take up as much of the field as the fence does, but it will cut into the current field.

Despite the field being smaller next year, Ewald said it will be a higher quality field because of regrading.

“The field will actually end up being smaller because in the master plan there is going to be more parking in the circle area, so the field will be smaller. But when it is said and done it will be regraded so it will be a much nicer field to play on,” Ewald said.

According to Hunegs, despite the inconvenience of construction, the new fitness center will benefit students at Park in the long run.

“I remember when I was in ninth grade gym and the gym teachers would say stuff like ‘This is one of the worst weight rooms in the state for high schools,’ so I think it will help the students,” Hunegs said. “There are a lot of athletes at Park who maybe can’t afford a gym membership so the weight room is a great place to for them to go work out. I think in the end the construction will be worth it.”

According to Ewald, the construction will affect sports practices but the athletic department will adapt.

“We are going to have to wait and see (how it affects sports),” Ewald said. “Just like with the locker rooms, we are going to have to improvise and plan around it, but we will make the best of it.”