Badin H.S. prepares for student growth with parking and other plans

Mar. 20—HAMILTON — A Stephen T. Badin High School athletic complex is now just a concept and is likely several years from construction, even though preliminary plans will be debated and evaluated by the city of Hamilton next month.

Presently, it's unknown when the planned Badin High School athletic complex will be built, but if the rezoning request and preliminary plan are approved, first by Planning Commission and then by City Council, Butler County's only Catholic high school will have an easier time constructing the facility.

The school's immediate need is more parking as the student body continues to grow. This year, student enrollment at the New London Road high school is 625, which is around a 65-student increase from enrollment five years ago. The school purchased land on Jerdan Lane to accommodate parking and bus traffic, as well as flexibility for future development.

MORE: In athletic complex plans, Badin to honor football coach Terry Malone

And enrollment will only grow, said Badin Board of Trustee chair and parent Cynamon Trokhan.

"The incoming freshman class, if I'm not wrong, is the largest they've seen in about 15 years," she said. "What that has done has created an immediate need to expand the parking for students and teachers and event attendees."

So as part of the parking lot expansion project and rezoning, the city of Hamilton's process requests an entire site plan for future development possibilities.

Trokhan said in discussions with the staff and the board, "we just kind of elected to incorporate that athletic complex concept now so that we wouldn't have to revisit the process in the future."

"The possibility of an on-campus athletic complex is very exciting, but we still would have a lot of significant discussions about fundraising and specific planning before any further steps were taken with that part of the plan," she said.

The school hasn't discussed the price tag, and any timeline would be described as "long term" planning, said Trokhan.

"Obviously I think every high school would love an on-campus athletic complex. Certainly, that would be amazing in terms of the overall student experience and create this sense of space right there on campus, and we've done that in recent years with the student development center, there has been some improvements there that's made Badin feel more like a campus than just a high school. There's definitely a lot to discuss."

Badin does not yet have a price tag on the potential athletic complex, according to school officials.

Badin parent Sara Carruthers, who lives two streets off New London Road, said while they do need an on-campus football field, she hopes for two things. First, she wants Badin officials to hold a meeting with neighbors to review the plans and believes "there will be a strong base of support."

Second, she wants Badin to also invest in the fine arts.

"They do need (the athletic complex), there's no question, however, I think it's very sad they're always stressing so much on athletics," said Carruthers.

She said the theater is "tiny" and the department does put on good productions, but "they don't have anything and I think they're falling behind there."

One resident in the neighborhood, who asked not to be identified for work-related reasons, didn't say if she was in favor or against the possible athletic complex but said whenever the facility is built, the neighbors across from Badin High School will be "a little perturbed."

"They're mostly all retired and all settled, and it's a quiet neighborhood," she said. "When they have all this traffic and all this stuff, the values of their homes will go down. I don't think they're going to be too happy."

Badin will present their land rezoning request and preliminary planned development at the April 21 Hamilton Planning Commission meeting. If the request and preliminary plan are approved, it would go to City Council for consideration. Council will consider the item three times, once as an item on the board's caucus agenda and then twice for legislative readings. Council would vote on the legislation after the second reading.

If the preliminary planned development is approved, Planning Director Liz Hayden said no constriction can happen until a final planned development is presented by Planning Commission, and then City Council.

But a decision by Planning Commission may or may not be made on April 21, said Hayden.

"There have been times where a big project like this has come through and planning commission tables the proposal so there could be more community meetings, an update to the application, or something like that," she said. "If they don't feel like they have had enough information, or there's been enough communication with neighbors, or there's something needs to be updated with the plan, a decision cannot happen that night."

Trokhan said while she hasn't been involved directly with conversations with neighbors, the school has been reaching out and believes the parking lot expansion was not a secret. And an athletic field has been long desired by the school and supporters.

"I just think Badin has seen some tremendous success in athletics and academically," said Trokhan. "This influx of students is super exciting and it causes you to think into the future, to see what are the future classes of Badin is going to need," she said. "I think it's been an exciting time to be on the board, and I think we have some very visionary thinkers, and we have great alumni and so it's exciting. It's an exciting time to be a Ram."

EDITOR'S NOTE: We inadvertently reported Sara Carruthers graduated from Badin High School. She attended and graduated from the Hamilton City School district.

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COACH TERRY MALONE FIELD

In the concept plan for a new Badin High School athletic complex, the stadium field would be named in honor of one of the Catholic school's most beloved coaches and teachers.

At the time of his retirement in 2003, Terry Malone was the winningest high school football coach in Ohio, which included 16 trips to the state football playoffs eight state semifinals, three finals, and the 1990 Division III state title when the Rams beat Richfield Revere 16-6.

Nearly two decades after his retirement, and five years since his death in January 2017, he is third on that all-time winningest coaching list with 360 wins.

Principal Brian Pendergest told the Journal-News in January 2017, the football coach "definitely put Badin on the map." As reported in the spring 2017 Badin High School newsletter, the principal said, "For the vast majority of Badin alumni, Terry Malone is Badin High School. Terry Malone put Badin High School on the map. It's as simple as that."

Malone died on Jan. 14, 2017, following an 8-hour scheduled open-heart surgery at Mercy Health-Fairfield Hospital. He suffered from congestive heart failure.

"Terry never identified himself as a coach. He always identified himself as a teacher," Dean Wright, a 1965 Hamilton Catholic graduate who played for Malone and then coached with Malone, told the Journal-News in 2017. "That teaching just spread over to the football field. He saw that as his mission."

Malone was a 1952 graduate of Hamilton Catholic High School, an all-boys school that merged with the all-girls Notre Dame High School to form Badin High School, which opened in the fall of 1966.

Over a nearly 50-year coaching career, Malone compiled a 360-117-8 record with Hamilton Catholic and Badin high schools. He retired from coaching in 2003, but he continued to teach.

During his time at Badin, he also at various points in his career as athletic director, dean of students, and interim principal.

Though Malone was first a teacher, he was recognized for his coaching as he was a member of several Halls of Fame, including the first class of the Badin Hall of Honor in 2014, as well as halls of fame for Butler County, Buddy LaRosa Greater Cincinnati, and Ohio High School groups. In 2004, the Greater Hamilton Chamber of Commerce presented Malone with a Lifetime Achievement Award, and is only one of seven people to be given that honor.

In his final game in the 2003 season, Malone's Badin Rams beat North College Hill 45-7. His players carried him off the field.

"Terry Malone earned an undying and unimpeachable loyalty from his players over the years," Wright said in the Badin Spring 2017 newsletter. "Just a lot of respect."