{"id":92880,"date":"2026-01-21T20:48:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T20:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/92880\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T20:48:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T20:48:14","slug":"allentown-central-catholic-to-build-athletic-complex-outside-city-as-home-away-from-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/92880\/","title":{"rendered":"Allentown Central Catholic to build athletic complex outside city as ‘home away from home’"},"content":{"rendered":"

ALLENTOWN, Pa. \u2014 In celebration of its centennial, Allentown Central Catholic High School<\/a> plans to build an athletic complex in Whitehall Township that will serve as a \u201chome away from home\u201d for current and future students, officials said.<\/p>\n

The high school, at 301 N. Fourth St., Allentown, is raising money for the project and other initiatives as part of a capital campaign to mark its 100-year anniversary in 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re the only Diocesan high school that doesn\u2019t have our own fields, and so I think that is really where a lot of that athletic focus came from,\u201d<\/p>\n

Adrienne Motley, Central Catholic’s director of alumni relations<\/p>\n

Central Catholic is working with Ruotolo Associates Inc., a national fundraising and public relations firm in New Jersey, to raise the funds.<\/p>\n

The campaign is in its early stages, and a goal has not yet been determined.<\/p>\n

School leaders said they aren\u2019t ready to disclose the cost of the athletic complex project or its specific location yet either.<\/p>\n

They confirmed the school has an agreement of sale for 23 acres in Whitehall.<\/p>\n

The purchase will be finalized pending the completion of testing, permitting and zoning requirements, they said.<\/p>\n

If all goes well, the complex \u2014 to consist of a turf field and track \u2014 will open for student use sometime next school year, said Adrienne Motley, Central Catholic’s director of alumni relations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re the only Diocesan high school that doesn\u2019t have our own fields, and so I think that is really where a lot of that athletic focus came from,\u201d Motley said.<\/p>\n

Giving students what they need<\/p>\n

The athletic complex would include a synthetic multi-purpose field, bleacher seating for 500 to 600 spectators and a training and storage facility. <\/p>\n

Additionally, the proposed complex would have restrooms, a press box, lights and a scoreboard.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to really make sure we have this to provide what our kids need.”<\/p>\n

Adrienne Motley, Central Catholic’s director of alumni relations<\/p>\n

Motley said the school has researched and discussed such a project for decades, but the centennial has provided an opportunity to take action.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to really make sure we have this to provide what our kids need,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

More than 80% of the student body plays a sport, Motley said. The school has about 600 students enrolled.<\/p>\n

Depending on how much money is raised, the school will explore the potential for other projects at the Whitehall Township land, too, she said.<\/p>\n

Those include a jump pit, throwing area, tennis courts and practice fields for baseball and softball.<\/p>\n

Randy Rice, Central Catholic\u2019s principal emeritus, said there is the potential to create grass practice fields, as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to try to get as much multiple use out of these things as we can,\u201d Rice said.<\/p>\n

The athletic complex would serve as the home competition field for the boys and girls soccer teams, as well as the boys and girls lacrosse teams.<\/p>\n

The track team would hold competitions at the complex, too.<\/p>\n

Practices would be held there when it\u2019s not being used for competitions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the exception of football, the goal is [that the complex is] really eventually the home of most, if not all, of our sports,\u201d Motley said.<\/p>\n

Central Catholic\u2019s football team will continue practicing at its current location on American Parkway and competing at J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown.<\/p>\n

In recent years, Rice said the school\u2019s soccer and tennis teams have played at Cedar Crest College\u2019s facilities and the lacrosse teams at Salisbury High School\u2019s fields.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe field rentals are very expensive,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s a nice trade off if we have our own, [then] we\u2019re not paying somebody to use their fields.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opportunities for partner schools<\/p>\n

Rice said the athletic complex also could provide a space at which Central Catholic\u2019s partner schools could hold field days.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think it would be a great marriage to have them involved with us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

ACCHS partners with local Catholic schools that serve students in kindergarten through eighth grade, with the goal of those students matriculating to the high school.<\/p>\n

The partner schools<\/a> include: Good Shepherd School in Northampton, St. Ann School in Emmaus, St. Elizabeth\u2019s Regional School in Whitehall, St. John Neumann Regional School in Palmerton, St. John Vianney Regional School in Allentown, St. Joseph the Worker School in Orefield, St. Michael the Archangel School in Bethlehem and St. Thomas More School in Allentown.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do a lot of work right now with our students going out to their schools, which obviously wouldn\u2019t go away,\u201d Motley said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut just giving us the ability to host a different kind of event and to grow that partnership is really what we\u2019re looking for \u2014 because they\u2019re part of us.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t exist without them and to an extent vice versa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campaign extends beyond athletics<\/p>\n

Additionally, Motley said it\u2019s important for those supporting the capital campaign to know it\u2019s not only about athletics.<\/p>\n

Fundraising also will support auditorium and building renovations, such as the installation of a fan cooling system for Rockne Hall, the school\u2019s gymnasium.<\/p>\n

As part of the campaign, ACCHS recently had the asphalt remixed for the school\u2019s parking lot, which students and staff call, \u201cThe Pits.\u201d <\/p>\n

The nickname is a reference to the old railroad pits that previously were adjacent to the parking lot.<\/p>\n

The parking lot recently was repaved ahead of the school year and some signs have been hung up along its fencing.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the capital campaign will raise funds to go toward an endowment for faculty pay and training.<\/p>\n

Motley said Catholic school teachers\u2019 salaries don\u2019t keep up with those of public school educators. <\/p>\n

The endowment will help Central Catholic hire and retain teachers \u201cwho are grounded in Catholicity,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Making a Catholic education accessible<\/p>\n

Funds also will be put toward an endowment for student scholarships to make \u201ca Catholic education accessible,\u201d Motley said.<\/p>\n

The 2025-26 annual tuition and fees for one student is $12,800.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s a way for us to expand our ability to support families who need more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adrienne Motley, Central Catholic’s director of alumni relations<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that tuition is not cheap,\u201d Motley said. \u201cIt\u2019s very difficult for many families who want this type of education.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can\u2019t access it because the need is great. So it\u2019s a way for us to expand our ability to support families who need more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Motley said the benefit of a Catholic education is in having faith be a normal and important part of each day.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, it’s a faith-based education, but there\u2019s also the morality and high expectations of our students, and so you really see that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Another Lehigh Valley Catholic high school also celebrates its centennial next year. <\/p>\n

Bethlehem Catholic will similarly mark its 100-year anniversary through a capital campaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At Becahi, fundraising will support the development of turf athletic fields, building renovations, student scholarships and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ALLENTOWN, Pa. \u2014 In celebration of its centennial, Allentown Central Catholic High School plans to build an athletic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":92881,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[45688,119,45689,45691,45690,45692,121,120,45693],"class_list":{"0":"post-92880","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-allentown","8":"tag-acchs-new-athletic-complex","9":"tag-allentown","10":"tag-allentown-central-catholic","11":"tag-allentown-central-catholic-athletic-complex","12":"tag-allentown-central-catholic-high-school-athletics","13":"tag-allentown-central-catholic-new-athletic-complex","14":"tag-allentown-headlines","15":"tag-allentown-news","16":"tag-whitehall-township-athletic-complex"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92880\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}