When it comes to having a home team advantage, the Ringgold Middle School Tigers are batting zero. But that will soon change.
The school is on deck to have its very own softball and baseball fields. The softball field is predicted to be complete in time to play a few games near the end of this fall, wrapping up construction that began in March, and the baseball field is planned to be complete in time for baseball season, which kicks off in February.
Coaches and parents are looking forward to the convenience the two new fields – which include press boxes, locker rooms, restrooms and an indoor hitting facility – will provide. The middle school teams have been using the county’s Jack Mattox Recreation Complex and Ringgold High School fields for practices and games.
“It should allow for more of our students to attend our home games since they won’t have to go off campus,” said RMS Principal Jeff Fricks. “It’s just a great selling point and a great addition to our school when you drive through here and you see these nice fields and nice facilities that are being built.”
The fields have been in planning for several years, and are finally coming to fruition thanks to 2016 Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds. ESPLOST is a voter-approved 1-cent sales tax levied on all consumer purchases in Catoosa County. The funds generated are exclusively for educational capital outlay expenditures such as new classrooms, maintenance and renovation of schools, school transportation and more.