John F. Kennedy High School athletics will once again have a home field advantage come fall 2025 - something they've missed out on for several years. That's when Cleveland Metropolitan School District is expected to finish construction of a new football field and track at the high school on Cleveland's Southeast Side.
City and school officials held a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for the new facility. When completed, it will add to what's currently a small number of tracks located at Cleveland Metropolitan School District buildings. Often, students will train on tracks elsewhere or spend much of their time playing football on other schools' fields, CEO Warren Morgan said. Students have been attending a new JFK high building since 2020, but they had still been practicing at the old athletic facilities until they were recently demolished.
"When I think about the high school I grew up in, or (for) many of us, we think you have everything there at your school and you don't have to travel or you don't have to go to another person's school. It's your own," Morgan said. "So I think that gives a point of pride for the students, but then also for the community."
Morgan said building new amenities like the stadium at JFK provides one way the district can try to push enrollment back up at CMSD schools, after years of declines.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb touted $115 million in investments the city and other partners like the school district have made in the city's Southeast Side in recent years.
"So today's groundbreaking is a symbol of that renaissance but also a symbol of new hope and a new beginning for John F. Kennedy High School," Bibb said. "Now, as a former track star myself in high school, I look forward to coming back and running the 400 one day soon with all the track stars of this great high school."
The new stadium and track will do wonders for the morale of students and the surrounding neighborhood, head football coach Bruce Walker said.
"It gives you something to believe in, and you can build on it," he said.
The athletic facility at John F. Kennedy is expected to be ready by the start of the 2025 football season, the district said in a press release. The $4 million price tag is being split between the district and the city.
