‘Where pride lives’: Construction to begin this week on new Larkin High School stadium

After six decades of playing home football games away from home, Larkin High School will finally have a stadium to call its own this fall.

Officials from the school and Elgin Area School District U-46 broke ceremonial ground Tuesday on the first on-campus stadium in the Elgin school’s 63-year history.

Larkin currently shares Memorial Field at rival Elgin High School, located about four miles away.

Principal Jason Misicka said the new athletic complex was something that the “Larkin community had wished for for decades.”

“It will make such a difference for student pride and belonging,” Misicka said. “When this field hosts its first game against the Elgin High School Maroons, the excitement and school spirit will be unmatched.”

The 2,250-seat stadium will be built in the same location as an existing field on the south side of the school. The $11.8 million complex will feature a modern stadium with a turf field for football, soccer, and other sports, as well as a high-performance track.

New bleacher seating will be located on the north and south sides of the stadium, with a press box on the home team’s south side. A 7,600-square-foot building on the west side of the field will house the locker rooms, concessions and bathrooms.

Other changes include a 1,500-square-foot covered outdoor pavilion, a new scoreboard, a new lighting and sound system, two ticket booth buildings, landscaping, and an ornamental fence along South McLean Boulevard.

“The Larkin athletic complex represents a significant step toward ensuring equity across the district’s athletic programs, providing our student athletes with resources and opportunities they deserve,” school board President Melissa Owens said. “Having a dedicated stadium will not only enhance the athletic experience for our students, but it will also foster a sense of pride and community for Larkin High School.”

Superintendent of Operations Ann Williams said construction will begin later this week, and officials expect the stadium to be ready by the fall athletic season.

“For more than six decades, Larkin has played its home games somewhere else. This fall that changes,” Williams said. “Home isn’t just a location. It’s where pride lives.”