Houston High School to construct new, $4.6M softball field

By Corey Davis – Reporter, Memphis Business Journal

For its entirety, the Houston High School softball team has never had the privilege of having a true home field advantage.

But, that’s about to change soon. The Germantown Board of Education approved on Aug. 24 the construction of a new, $4.6 million softball field and facility.

“Our girls’ softball team has not had a home for 31 years and had to play their games at either Grace Evangelical Church, different facilities, or whatever someone will allow them to use,” said Josh Cathey, deputy superintendent for Germantown Municipal School District. “But, they never had their own field, so this is a big step in making that right."

The board approved Memphis-based Grinder, Taber & Grinder Inc. (GTG) as the contractor of the project, with a $4.6 million bid, Cathey said. The project was in the works since 2016. Houston High School worked a deal with the City of Germantown to acquire Houston Levee Park next to the school.

The 21-acre land included an existing field. Cathey said the new softball field will include a 10,500-square-foot field house, while the facility will include new dugouts, lighting, and fencing. Cathey stated construction is slated to start next month. The goal is to have the project completed by summer 2022, which will mean the softball team will play one more year at Grace Evangelical when its season begins in the spring of 2022.

Cathey said the project was spearheaded by parents, and school officials knew how critical it was for the softball team to have a playing field equal to that of the baseball team.

“The softball parents said this is something that needs to be fixed, in terms of the boys [baseball team] having this wonderful facility, and having their own field on our property,” Cathey said. “The girls don’t have anything, and this is a wrong that needs to be made right. Title IX was mentioned throughout this, and parents certainly made us aware that we had a Title IX issue by not having anything for the girls. There was a lot of work of getting this land and going through this process, and we are head-over-heels excited about it. This is going to be great for our program.”

The new softball field project is just one of a slate of potential athletic developments that Houston High School has planned.

“We have a master facility plan since we acquired the 21 acres behind the school,” Cathey said. “We have several needs, such as additional gyms and athletic fields. As we go through that process, hopefully this [softball field] is the first of many phases on the campus to improve our athletic facilities.”