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Durant Finally To Get Field House

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By DAREK SHARP

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 3, 2008

PLANT CITY - When Mike Gottman took over as head football coach at Durant High School, among the first things he realized was the need fora proper building to house the squad.

Five years later, he's getting his wish.

"We started raising money in February 2004, and now it's looking like we might start building this thing in February of 2009," Gottman said. "Yep, it's been a bit of a long process. Lotta barbecues, lotta golf scrambles."

Last week Gottman said the school has finally put together enough money to start construction of the field house. It will take more than $230,000 to be able to build the facility, not including $50,000 from the Hillsborough County School Board.

Up to now the football team has had to use the weight room that is utilized by physical education classes and has had only the bare basics as far as a locker room.

The field house will be a 6,000-square-foot building with two locker rooms, one at each end, and a massive 3,600-square-foot weight room.

"It's just going to be a huge benefit. It's hard to explain how much better this will make things," Gottman said. "With the small weight room we've had, our weightlifting program has suffered. It has always been an issue."

Gottman credited assistant coach Scott Varnum for helping to raise the money by getting a large number of donors in tune with the project.

It looks like the building, if all goes as planned, will take four months to build and be ready near the end of the school year.

Not only will the football team use the field house, but also in the winter, both the boys and girls soccer teams will move in. For the spring, it will house the track squads.

The field house will be just west of the football stadium, where the team conducts its practices. The school is off Turkey Creek Road.

Reporter Darek Sharp can be reached at dsharp@tampatrib.com.

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