By: Brady Palmer (12)

June 5th, 2024, Helias Catholic broke ground on their expansion of the campus. The expansion includes a new performing arts center, a baseball and softball complex, and more added on to the Rackers fieldhouse. The project name, “The Spirit of Excellence Project” was inspired by the project's drive to give students more opportunity to achieve excellence.

Helias Catholic President Ron Vossen along with other members of the staff and alumni first started discussing project plans in early 2022, with the donation campaign kicking off in the winter of 2024 after receiving approval from the diocese.

“We kicked off the campaign in February of 2024, but we started planning, I wanna say, in early 2022 and we got the initial go ahead from the bishop in 2023,” Vossen said.

The project wouldn’t be cheap, as the school needs to raise $30 million. But in a matter of months, the campaign reached its goal, with an estimated 80% coming from alumni.

“Well, the biggest challenge is trying to raise $30 million dollars. But with the great community that we have, good alumni, and friends of Helias we were able to reach our goal,” Vossen said.

One of the most important aspects of the project is the convenience it offers students. This addition allows nearly all clubs and activities to remain on the site of the school, reducing the stress for both teachers and students.

“The big thing was to have everything on campus with baseball, softball, the performing arts center. This kind of makes it easier for the kids and coaches to get around. Another big one that we really weren’t planning on was the archery room, but that’s already been a major success,” Vossen said.

The hope is for the project to be completed by early 2027. If all goes according to plan, Helias students will be playing baseball, and performing the spring musical just over a year from today.