Tomball ISD Celebrates Completion of New Stadium and Junior High School

HOUSTON – Tomball Independent School District (TISD) will celebrate the completion of its new Grand Lakes Junior High School and Tomball ISD Stadium with ribbon cutting events.

The ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Grand Lakes Junior High School will be held Friday, Aug. 6, at 4.30 p.m. at 20247 Cypress Rosehill, Tomball. The ribbon cutting ceremony and convocation for the new Tomball ISD Stadium, which will be attended by 2,000 people, will be held Monday, Aug. 9, at 8.30 a.m. at 20235 Cypress Rosehill, Tomball.

The facilities are two of the biggest projects of a $275 million bond program that voters approved in November 2017 to accommodate its rapid growth (student enrollment increased from 16,000 in 2018-19 school year to 19,500 in 2021). Built on a greenfield site at Cypress Rosehill Road and SH 99 (Grand Parkway), the two projects – part of the Elmer & Dorothy Beckendorf Educational Complex – broke ground in May 2019. PBK Architects served as the design architect and Gilbane Building Company served as the contractor.

“Being able to celebrate the opening of these new facilities is a major milestone for Tomball ISD and is in large part due to the unwavering commitment to high-quality instruction and extraordinary experiences we offer in our Destination District,” said Dr. Martha Salazar-Zamora, Tomball ISD Superintendent of Schools. “None of this would be possible without the support of our community who share a passion for education and understand the importance of investing in our future growth as a District. We look forward to these facilities serving our students, staff and community for many, many years.”

“The completion of these two facilities is another significant milestone in Tomball ISD’s continuous quest for excellence,” said JP Grom, vice president of Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN), which is serving as the program manager. “These two facilities will serve students, teachers and staff for the next 50-75 years and provide them the environment and infrastructure needed to succeed in the 21^st century.”

The $37.29 million Tomball ISD Stadium will serve the district’s football, soccer, arts, and band programs. The stadium will seat 10,000 spectators and accommodate 3,000 parking spaces. At the north end of the stadium is a two-level community facility – the biggest in the Tomball area – that can house 600 people. It features a conference center, sports locker/dressing rooms, athletic training, kitchen, and administration areas for sporting events. The previous football stadium had 7,500 seats and 2,000 parking spaces. The stadium also features a synthetic turf called Astro Turf Trionic Blend, which is typically used in college-level sports, for player safety. Other significant features include a 36-foot by 52-foot Daktronics scoreboard, a one-level press box, and monitors that will provide live feeds during games.

The $43.26 million Grand Lakes Junior High School will relieve Willow Wood Junior High School. The 228,346-square-foot, single-story building will house 1,645 students in grades 7-8. It includes 60 classrooms, 12 labs, two gyms for basketball and volleyball, a weight training room, two fine arts labs, a dance studio as well as a fine arts studio for music and acting. Adjacent and support amenities include a 610-seat competition stadium for football, soccer and track-and-field events. There are also two full-size practice fields for soccer and football.

Other significant projects in the bond program include a new elementary school (opened in August 2020), expansion of its high school (will open in fall 2021), a new aquatic center (opened in February 2021), and an agricultural science center (opened in September 2020). Improvements also include a new entry to the Tomball Intermediate School that enhances its visibility along the historic Main Street, new water and wastewater treatment plants to support the buildings and sports stadium at the Rosehill campus, and upgrades to the existing baseball and softball fields at the two high school campuses.