Many students often wonder what is inside the rather mysterious fieldhouse that was built recently. The fieldhouse is an indoor field on campus where sporting practices can be held if weather conditions aren’t favorable, or if teams simply prefer to practice there. Some physical education (PE) classes take place in the fieldhouse as well. 

Some students have forgotten that Camas High School (CHS) even has a fieldhouse. 

“To be honest, I forgot we had a fieldhouse. I’ve never seen anyone go in there.” said sophomore Rachel Hill.

There are a number of sports and activities that take place in the fieldhouse. Cheer practices often use the fieldhouse, as the floor is softer and safer to perform on. When CHS gets the needed equipment, they hope to hold gymnastics practices in the fieldhouse. 

“Mrs. Reed likes to call it The Brandy Reed Cheer Facility,” said Mr. Baranowski, the Athletic Director at CHS. 

Because of recent extreme weather conditions due to the smoke from the Nakia Creek Fire and the intense rain a few weeks ago, the fieldhouse was put to extra use because students’ health was at risk practicing outside in such conditions.

The fieldhouse includes a 40-yard turf field and has cabinets and walls set aside for storage and nets covering the ceiling. If needed, there are extra nets along the sides of the walls for practices like softball and other ball sports. There are also bright vibrant ceiling lights so that players can see clearly.

“It smells a little musty, but the bright lights are energizing and the games we play in there are very fun,” said sophomore Salami McConneha.

Some students believe that the fieldhouse is not needed and that it should be replaced with something more “useful.”

“I think it should be replaced. There should be a swimming pool,” said sophomore Lila McGeachy. 

But amongst the controversy behind the usefulness of the fieldhouse, many wonder how Camas High School decided to build the building.

The answer is that the community asked for its construction through something called a bond.

A bond is when the community votes for things to happen. If the majority did not agree to build it, there would likely be an empty field where the fieldhouse presently sits.

An outside rental called Camas Community Ed rents out facilities during out-of-school hours. For example, the Fieldhouse, Doc Harris, Cardon field, and other sports fields when they are not currently in use by Camas School District students are often rented out for community activities and gatherings.

The fieldhouse is a building many students might not even know exists; but to others, it is a very useful establishment that contributes to their progress and training in sports.