Posted: Thursday, August 30, 2012 12:05 am

American staff St. Louis American | 

The St. Louis Public School District, in conjunction with the St. Louis Rams and PHL Inc., recently hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony to unveil the new athletic facility at Gateway STEM High School.

Les Snead, St. Louis Rams General Manager, said, “This new athletic facility will become a source of pride for these student-athletes, coaches and administrators as well as the community as a whole.”

The new athletic facility will be available for use by Gateway STEM’s athletic teams, school physical education courses, marching band, other school’s athletic events, as well as a site for community athletic and recreational programs.

The facility’s greatest asset will be its flexibility, which will allow it to be quickly configured in any of the following:

A regulation-sized football field capable of hosting Gateway STEM games and practices, as well as additional games for other SLPS high schools. In this configuration, the field will include player benches, goalposts, field markings, a scoreboard and bleachers.

A regulation-sized soccer field which will include regulation goals, player benches and bleacher seating.

Two to three youth football league-sized fields each with goal posts and bleacher seating. SLPS currently partners with the St. Louis Rams and the Dream Center, a local church and ministry, to provide the NFL Youth Flag Football Program.

Two to three youth soccer league-sized fields each with goals and bleacher seating. St. Louis has thriving youth soccer leagues, and high quality venues are always in demand.

In any of the above configurations, the facility includes field light upgrades, Americans with Disabilities Act compliant bathroom facilities, concession stands, a press box, public address system, a pavilion, a storage facility for sports and field equipment, and a visiting player locker room. The facility also includes a security system and is surrounded by secure fencing.

“We are incredibly grateful and thankful for this new athletic complex, which will not only benefit Gateway STEM students, but all children throughout the city of St. Louis,” said Dr. Beth Bender, principal at Gateway STEM High School.

This is the second project that the St. Louis Rams has supported for SLPS and PHL Inc., with the first being the new athletic facility at Sumner High School.