The regularly rain-soaked, patchy and worn down athletic grounds on a campus far older than the Mountain View Middle School building had stood as an example of the city’s lack of quality playing fields for years.

“When you go to neighboring districts and see how amazing and beautiful their facilities are, it didn’t take us much to decide our students deserve that too,” Bremerton School District board president Aly Rotter said.

Two-and-a-half years after voters approved a levy that would fund a significant remodel of the grounds, the $17.6 million project was unveiled to students, athletes, district staff and the community as an athletic complex not just designed to last but to take pride in. “It’s not even recognizable,” Rotter said when comparing it to the previous fields. “(It’s) not only from just the layout of the property, but the quality of the experience when you’re here.”

The changes were striking to those who attended the Oct. 2 unveiling of the multi-sport complex, which officially opened in September, district representative Karen Bevers said. Features of the new complex include an eight-lane track surrounding a turf football/soccer field, a multi-use turf field capable of hosting baseball, softball, soccer and lacrosse, LED field lighting, organic inlay for all of the fields, new parking and a 2,400-square-foot facility for storage, restrooms and concessions.

Garth Steedman, district assistant superintendent in Finance, Operations and Human Resources, described the field as a jewel for Mountain View and a plethora of other athletic organizations that have used the school’s facilities. “Lots of community groups have rented our facilities in the past. This (change) would not be possible without our community.”

The countless loads of earth hauled away to make for a re-grade of the landscape also left room for the installation of new drainage that should help the fields remain in use year-round.

All of the storm drainage for the site is underneath the (football/soccer/track) field, project manager Kellie Bower said. “So there are all big detention chambers that collect for the entire site and then slowly release it to where the earth can recapture it.” The combination of the new fields and drainage system will bring safety back to athletics at Mountain View. “The importance of safety for our students, I think, is one of the most exciting things about this,” Bower said, adding it’s not just athletes but students in PE classes and community members who use it for recreation.