Helias Catholic High School in Jefferson City made another dent in the $15 million it's trying to raise for new facilities after receiving a $3 million anonymous donation.
The donor specifically requested it be used for the main synthetic turf field, track, grandstands, press box and locker room portion of the athletic complex.
Helias President Fr. Stephen Jones previously said the athletic complex would be on hold unless a donor came forward.
Now that one has, the timeline for when the complex will be completed has been moved forward, although the school wasn't ready to announce when it could be fully constructed.
Jones presented the school's campaign plan to raise money for the fine arts building and the athletic complex at a public meeting on Wednesday at Helias.
He said they're trying to raise $5 million for a new fine arts center and chapel, which will have space for the choir, band and dance team to rehearse. The teams are currently struggling to share space in the school gym, common area and parking lot to practice.
The new Science Center and chapel administration building is 99 percent funded, Jones said, and it's currently under construction with plans for completion by fall 2016.
Jones hosted Wednesday's meeting as an opportunity for the public to hear the school's plan for Helias's future and ask questions.
During the meeting, he also announced "an exciting opportunity" for the school as a separate donor pledged a $3 million match if the school can raise $3 million in community donations.
The school has already raised $1.1 million from 90 individual pledges.
In terms of the athletic complex, Helias officials have budgeted about $5 million, which will provide two regulation soccer fields, a football field outfitted with stadium grandstands, a track, tennis courts and a baseball complex.
Jones said if the school moves forward with the two soccer fields, Helias could be the only venue in Mid-Missouri that can host state soccer tournaments, which, in turn, would be good for the local economy.
Helias's current practice fields are used for junior varsity football games and have been dubbed "the field of death" by Jones, who said it's inadequate for the school needs and unsafe for students.
Its asphalt track and a grass field are tough on the athletes.
The athletic complex would be used by 60 percent of the student body, including P.E. students, the dance team, the band and the area Catholic schools in addition to the Helias sports teams.
Currently, many student athletes travel off-site for games and practices because the school doesn't have the space. It's something the school wants to remedy with the new complex, Jones said.
Brian Dowden, a Helias alum and the parent of two Helias students, said he generally attends Helias meetings because he's interested in hearing about the school's future.
Both of his children play tennis for Helias, and he said it's unsafe for them to travel to Washington Park where they practice and play games. He said homeless people sometimes sleep there and hassle the students.
Jones agreed it would be better for the students to practice on home turf, which is why the complex is an important part of the campaign.
First and foremost, Jones said they want to inflate the school's endowment fund from it's current $7 million to $12 million to raise money for the new facilities. The endowment supplements the school's operation costs in order to keep tuition costs low.
Student tuition roughly covers 69 percent of the cost to educate each child at Helias, and by plumping the endowment fund, the school will be able to keep tuition low.
Jones said he would like to raise more money through the endowment, which is fed by business partnerships, alumni and personal donations.
A feasibility study estimated the community could potentially support $6.5 to $7.2 million for the campaign, far from the $15 million needed to complete all of the facilities.
"I'm the kind of person who believes you shoot for the stars and when you land on Mars, you're doing pretty good, instead of shooting for the moon and landing in the Pacific Ocean," Jones said.
Donors can choose any section they're interested in supporting. The three options are the endowment, the athletic complex and the fine arts center.
Two-thirds of undesignated donations go to the endowment with the rest is evenly split between the athletic complex and the fine arts center.