If all goes well, Father Stephen Jones said Friday, by this time next year Helias Catholic High School will be opening its new Science Center classrooms and a new football field.
"We also want to construct some other bricks-and-mortar projects - an athletics complex that will provide practice and competition fields, and also raise funds for a fine arts center that not only Helias can use, but all the Catholic schools in our area can use," Jones, Helias' president, told about 40 people attending the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce's monthly Friday Coffee.
"So, we're really shooting for the stars in this campaign, because it's a big one and an ambitious one, and we're all very well aware of that.
"But we thought going in that we wanted to shoot for the moon and stars."
The goal is to raise $15 million over the next five years for the Science Center, fine arts center, a larger chapel and a complete sports complex.
Right now, Helias' football and track teams use the public schools' Adkins Stadium.
And many in the Helias community were instrumental in helping raise funds for the public schools' renovation and conversion of the former Jefferson Junior High School into the Miller Performing Arts Center.
"We are thankful that we've been able to use those facilities - and we look forward (to using them) for many years to come," Jones said. "That being said, there are some drawbacks for Helias, because it sort of limits what we can do as far as a fine arts program, because we're not on the same campus.
"Because, when we take things over, we have to take it away on the same day, and go back and forth - and it kind of limits us to having a major spring musical every year - and that really being about all we can do."
Having their own fine arts building, Jones added, "allows us to expand - and that is really what this is all about, the ability to expand our own curriculum (and) the ability to expand what we offer co-curricularly and extra-curricularly, in the area of fine arts."
The proposed Helias fine arts center would seat about 400 people - fewer than half the Miller Center's capacity - so, Jones said, Helias still would want to use the Miller building for programs attracting larger audiences.
The same holds true for using Adkins Stadium.
On Helias' website that explains the capital campaign, the issue of sharing the Adkins Stadium and the Miller Center is raised.
About the stadium, the website explains: "While current arrangements meet many of our varsity competition needs, they do not meet our practice or lower level competition needs.
"Moving forward it will be increasingly important for us to have sports and practice facilities on campus for safety and scheduling convenience."
Noting there already are some scheduling issues when Helias and Jefferson City both need the stadium at the same time, the website reports "that (problem) will increase if/when Jefferson City opens a second (public) high school."
Jones emphasized the capital campaign was developed after an Omaha, Nebraska-based consulting firm did a feasibility study that included surveying more than 400 people, and found "the community will support all three of these things."
Jones added: "We think this is a great thing for our community, in general ... in partnering with our public school friends (and) in partnering with our Catholic elementary schools."
The Science Center would offer Helias' students six, state-of-the-art science labs, Jones said.
Eventually, the plans are to add to the Science Center wing the fine arts center, new administrative offices and a "large chapel that will be able to accommodate a full class. If you've ever been to Helias and been in our current chapel, we seat about 60 or 70 students - 80 packed in like sardines."
The new chapel could accommodate an entire class (freshmen, sophomores, juniors or seniors) at one time, "so we can begin to expand our worship experience and have a place for presentations, etc.," Jones explained.
But the Science Center is first on the list - and its construction helps build the football field and track, because they would be placed on the "fill" material dug up to make room for the science building's foundation.
"There's going to be like a dump truck convoy getting dirt from the one to the other, so we can just go ahead and begin clearing that area and getting it ready so when we do have funds, we can begin construction over there," Jones said.
And money is the big obstacle for building the athletic facilities, since students' tuition money never is used for non-academic projects.
Despite a rumor that a bat species was living in the woods where the athletic facilities would go, between Myrtle Street and the Capital City Christian Church, Jones said that is not delaying the project.
"We've done everything (officials) have asked, to wait until August - and there's nothing holding us back" other than money, he said.
"A stadium will come last in the timeline - unless somebody came forward and said, "I want to (pay for) the whole thing.'"