Madison Country Day School will open a new MCDS Fieldhouse gym at the start of the 2026-27 school year, expanding practice space for all sports teams and allowing high school student-athletes to finish practice earlier in the evening. The project, which is estimated to cost $3 million, was funded largely through community donations raised in just two to three weeks.
The MCDS Fieldhouse will hopefully be ready for lower school physical health education classes and middle school and high school sports practices by the beginning of the 2026-27 school year, Head of School Mark Brooks said.
As the school has grown, sports scheduling has been an issue. With only one gym currently available, up to four middle school teams have practiced at the same time, pushing high school practices later into the evening. Brooks said the situation has sent the wrong message to students.
“We believe in student-athletes, but it feels like, by not having another gym, we’re sending a signal to the students, either you can be a student or you can be an athlete,” Brooks said. “The signal we actually are trying to send is that you can be a student-athlete.”
Athletic Director Anne Gravel hopes the earlier practice times will encourage more students to go out for sports.
“I hope the MCDS Fieldhouse and earlier start times encourages and incentivizes high schoolers to either come out for teams that they didn’t want to prior because they thought they couldn’t handle the academic balance, or even stay in sports longer,” Gravel said.
Physical and Health Education Teacher and PHE Department Chair Kassie Conditt agreed.
“I’m really excited for us to get all of our student-athletes home a little bit earlier so that participating in athletics at MCDS feels more approachable and easier to balance with their academics,” Conditt said.
Many student-athletes are looking forward to the new space just as much as the athletic department.
“I am very excited for the opportunities that all student-athletes will have to grow our school’s athletic program and community,” Sidney ’29 said. “I believe that student-athletes all-around are working very hard both athletically and academically, which is a difficult task. With the MCDS Fieldhouse, student-athletes will be able to work to improve and grow as well-rounded members of our community.”
Middle school student-athletes are buzzing, too.
“I’m excited about the new space that it will bring to the MCDS athletes and students, giving them more room for different activities at multiple times,” Oliver ’32 said.
The new MCDS Fieldhouse will also benefit the lower school physical education program.
“It’s a total game-changer,” Lower School Physical and Health Education Teacher Bethany Schmidt said, adding that MCDS is working on starting more lower school sports to prepare kids for higher-level practices and games/competitions. Additionally, families can plan around more consistent practice schedules, making scheduling easier, especially for those with student-athletes in different sports and divisions.
Beyond athletics, the MCDS Fieldhouse could host Science Olympiad on weekends and other school events, serve as overflow space for middle school and high school physical education classes when the main gym is closed, and provide shelter for outdoor sports teams during bad weather. It will also help manage visitor access and improve campus security.
The project came together quickly. A donor approached Brooks and Interim Director of Development Adina Gasser in the spring of the 2024-25 school year with a $1 million gift for a new gym. Gasser and Brooks revisited the school’s 2014 campus master plan, which had originally called for a gym connected to new classrooms at a cost of roughly $10 million. The MCDS Fieldhouse design brought the cost down to $2.7 million, with $300,000 coming from the endowment, for a total of $3 million.
“It was amazing,” Brooks said. “Everybody we asked said yes.” He called it “probably the most unusual project I’ve ever done.”
Brooks and Gasser confirmed that more additions are still planned, including yet another gym. Smaller projects will continue to be funded through the MCDS gala and Fund-a-Need.
A “profound meaning and sense of belonging” can come from being a member of an athletic team, Conditt said. “I feel grateful that the school community is investing in the future of athletics at MCDS.”
