Melissa ISD Kicks Off Season with State-of-the-Art Sports and Learning Facilities

With a W-I-N after the first game of the season against Argyle High School, the Melissa Cardinals have really taken off! These students are ready to soar after the opening of their new state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor sports facilities. From the 10,000-seat Coach Kenny Deel Stadium to the multifunctional Melissa Championship Center, there is something for every student to further their educational and athletic journeys with hands-on and live-action training in multiple subjects, including journalism, sports medicine, marketing, broadcasting, and event production. 

To meet the demand of one of the fastest-growing school districts in North Texas, these facilities will be multifunctional with spaces for training, education, high school divisional playoff games, band competitions, graduation ceremonies, community activities, and much more.  

Duke Sparks, Melissa ISD’s Director of Community Partnerships & Athletic Operations, said the vision for their facilities was often sketched onto yellow coach’s notepads and to see those concepts translate into what they see today is above and beyond their expectations.     

“It's absolutely the vision we had, and y'all brought it forth better than we could imagine,” said Duke Sparks. “People come in with their jaws dropped. That's what we've done as a team, and it doesn't get any better than this.” 

Parkhill provided full-service architectural and engineering design, including architectural, interior, MEP, structural, landscape, and site civil design for the Melissa Championship Center—a new Indoor Athletic Training Facility—and the Coach Kenny Deel Stadium, a tribute to long-time Melissa coach, Kenny Deel. 

Some of the highlights include:

• Full-length indoor turf practice fields that meet NFL specifications for combine workouts. 
• Multiuse fields that can be used for other sports, including band, golf, soccer, and baseball practice. 
• Leading-edge training and workout facilities designed for optimal peak performance. 
• Multi-purpose recreation and event spaces for graduations, receptions, banquets, lectures, etc. 
• Specialized classrooms and learning environments to further education in sports, health, communications, and technology. 
• Inspirational quotes and murals decorated throughout the complex.

Parkhill, Melissa ISD, and the City of Melissa collaborated throughout both projects to design the facilities in a way that can be used to increase their athletic brand as well as to supplement their academic goals and enhance the high school experience.  

“Everything they do, they do for their community,” Mildred Bautisa Perez, project manager for the stadium project, said. “This wasn’t planned with only football in mind. This is a place where people will see their kids graduate, or a UIL band competition. We wanted to design a place where if you were a mom with a cheerleader on the field, you sit anywhere in the stadium and see your kid perform. It really is the center of the community.” 

Next Level Learning 

These facilities were designed in conjunction with Melissa ISD to be multifunctional spaces that cater to both sports and education that maximized space in every way. The 112-seat film room in the Melissa Championship Center, akin to a college lecture hall, also converts into two separate learning areas. State-of-the-art training and rehabilitation facilities provide opportunities for students interested in sports medicine.  

Multiple classrooms are located within Coach Kenny Deel Stadium that host Career and Technology Education (CTE) classes in the emerging fields of communications and technology, such as graphic design, sports marketing, audio/video production, coaching, and more. “We included classrooms on the second and third level in areas that would usually be interstitial space that would be lost in other stadiums,” Mildred said. 

The stadium also features fully functional press, broadcasting, and a/v production areas. Melissa ISD has partnered with professional entities, such as GameOn Sports Network, to provide students interested in these fields of study the opportunity to get “on the job” training during live games and events. Parkhill was tasked with designing these areas to be inclusive to the learning experience with the intended goal for students to work and manage live events such as a football game broadcast.  

Duke says that their mission at Melissa ISD is to prepare students for life with “hire learning,” so they can develop the skills needed to be successful, productive citizens and workers of the future.  

A Crown Jewel 

Melissa is a place that embraces community, and the Coach Kenny Deel Stadium and Melissa Championship Center will be a shining focal point to their city. These two facilities not only provide great opportunities for students to get the best educational experience in their hometown, but these are also places for people to gather and celebrate community. 

The Parkhill team was able to experience that sense of community firsthand during a recent scrimmage held at Coach Kenny Deel Stadium. Mildred said she was filled with pride and joy seeing everyone enjoy the spaces she helped bring to fruition. “This project has been special, and I have really enjoyed the whole process,” she said. “It’s a perfect example of building community. When a client’s vision and goals align with ours and to see the facilities being used as they are intended... it is a win for everyone.”