16980 Kercheval Pl • McCourt Building • Grosse Pointe, MI 48230 • 313.882.6900 • Office Hours: Monday-Friday 9am-5pm

16980 Kercheval Pl. • Grosse Pointe, Michigan 48230 • 313.882.6900 • Monday-Friday 9am-4pm

By Jody McVeigh | on July 27, 2022

Courtesy photo Ed Lazar cradles the three binders he uses to catalog fieldhouse, East Metro Athletics and Complete Student-Athlete information.

Ed Lazar has noticed a problem in the Grosse Pointe community and has plans in place to address it. With nearly 40 years of coaching experience, student-athletes, he said, should be engaged in academics, athletics and acquiring life skills all year, not just when their sport is in season. He knows there’s a need for a location outside the classroom and during the off-season for student-athletes to continue improving themselves. With this in mind, Lazar and his associate, Micah Darnell, shared details of their plan — building a self-sustaining fieldhouse that offers whole-person coaching in athletics and life skills — at the June 27 meeting of the Grosse Pointe Public School System Board of Education. The reception was better than Lazar could have imagined. “Everybody was all smiles,” he reported. “We were excited to have the concept so well received.”

The plan Lazar approached the board with a PowerPoint presentation and asked two questions: Is the district interested in owning an asset, built at no cost to the district, and being self-sustaining? And if so, where would they like it built? “Coach mentors will be a big part of this facility, which offers performance training for all sports,” Lazar explained. “The well-rounded person we’re trying to turn out is mission critical.” The proposed facility is an 80,000-square-foot, two-story building. The first floor would feature a six-lane, 200-meter track with space for field events; two basketball/volleyball courts on the infield; a performance training room; a trainers’ room for medical attention; day-use lockers or cubbies; administrative offices, receiving and storage areas; a professional kitchen and a dining room. “That’s an important part for me,” Lazar said of the latter. “Growing up, we had meals together with the dining room directly off the kitchen. We had a lot of great discussions around that dining room table. We prepared the meals, ate the meals and cleaned up together. That’s what I envision for sports teams with (guidance from) a professional chef teaching meal prep and healthy eating.” Patrons can take the stairs or an elevator to the second floor, which will feature a mezzanine overlooking first-floor activities; four skyboxes, two on each side of the oval; bleachers adjacent to the skyboxes; and four conference rooms. “Though we are teaching and mentoring, we don’t want to duplicate a classroom situation,” Lazar said. “However, we can use the conference rooms for team meetings or other special presentations.” While the primary purpose of the facility is to have a space to coach and mentor athletes in their offseason, there also would be a landscaped walking and running path — not a bike path, Lazar stressed — around the facility for use during warmer months, with security cameras and lights to keep people safe. “We want the community to have a place to gather and feel secure,” he noted. The fieldhouse will be available for students as young as grade five through senior citizens. “A student-athlete is anyone pursuing academic or personal enrichment and who is also engaged in some form of athletics,” Lazar said. “Being a student or an athlete doesn’t end when you graduate high school and go out into the world. I’m always engaged in something to improve myself — a new certification, my own fitness, reading books. It’s for my health, but also to set a good example to my athletes. I try to live what the best practices for coaching are.” The facility will offer below-market priced memberships, though coaching and mentoring will be free for GPPSS students in grades 5-12. “There are no restrictions on where you live; all are welcome,” Lazar said. “I’d like to establish scholarships if someone can’t afford a membership. We want to make it as available as possible and not let economics get in the way.”

The specifics The fieldhouse will be managed by East Metro Athletics, a privately funded nonprofit corporation started by Lazar that will provide coaching and mentoring to offseason student-athletes. Lazar currently is developing a strong board for EMA, as well as professional fund management for an endowment. He and his wife, Karen, as well as Darnell are the three EMA directors. They will fill the organizational chart “cautiously, with the right people,” Lazar said. In his presentation to the school board, Lazar noted the pillars and philosophy of EMA include helping student-athletes live balanced lives and work to one’s capacity; practice excellent communication skills; learn financial literacy and culinary adequacy; learn the value of community service; and understand each other’s arts and culture; among others. While EMA will manage the program and maintain the endowment, ownership of the facility will be turned over to the district. “They will own the facility because they’re dedicating the land,” Lazar said of the district. “EMA will build the facility and fund the endowment through private fundraising. Generated revenue will be for maintenance and coaches. It will be fully paid for and self-sustaining.” The estimated cost to build the facility, which Lazar said is ambiguous without more conversations with architects or builders, is around $20 million. A $15 million endowment also would be created to sustain the building and pay coach mentors. “We certainly need more than architectural renderings and floor plans,” he said. “It’s construction costs, legal and accounting. We need to get as close as we can, plus 10 percent to start. Then we go to people and institutions we know are passionate about the cause. “… The target audience for funding is four local foundations, four national foundations, local individuals and the three hospital systems,” he said. “We’re going to go to people who have a passion for what we’re doing — when we have a better idea of the cost to build.” Lazar said there likely will be naming rights available. “For the fundraising, we want to get 70 percent pledged and 50 percent in the bank before we break ground. Then we’ll open it to a public campaign,” he said. “The district is not on the hook for anything other than agreeing to the program and the location for planning purposes and finally breaking ground when those initial fundraising targets are met,” Lazar added, noting he will work with the school district on selecting a location. “We have to consider zoning and neighbors. We want to limit exposure to residences. The fewer property owners nearby, the fewer objections. It’s certainly understandable that a number of folks may not want a building like this visible from their backyard. “One location that’s been up for consideration is behind Barnes School, but it has a street behind it with eight to 10 houses and a street beside it with six to eight houses. We’re not trying to anger people along the way, but develop support and coalition.”

Next steps Next steps include selecting a task force, then engaging the architect, TMP Architects of Bloomfield Hills, who already is committed to a price for renderings and floor plans, Lazar said. As a coach of nearly 40 years — he currently coaches cross-country at Pierce Middle School and is the men’s head track and field coach at Grosse Pointe North — Lazar said not only is there a need for this fieldhouse, but the community is ready for one. He estimates the project will take 18 to 24 months once construction begins. “I think it’s an opportunity to be united around a worthy cause, building the best people that we can, the best citizens, and preparing them to have a positive impact on the world. That’s the greatest gift a community can offer,” he said. “Our student-athletes can be part of community engagement, community service, while doing as well as they can academically and athletically — and to learn who they are and why they’re here so that they can enjoy their lives and have a positive impact on everyone they meet. … I’m hard-pressed to find somebody to say this is not a good idea. Let’s rally around this one thing and make it a reality. “So far everybody wants this to move forward,” Lazar said. “Yes, there’s interest. We just have to hammer out a location and get planning.” Following his presentation, Lazar gauged the board’s interest to see if he should continue working on the project. He asked board members to sign a memorandum of understanding, which states he should continue the planning process and that, if the board agrees to designate a location in the future, Lazar’s East Metro Athletics will underwrite the cost of the planning process. Because the board indicated support, Lazar will continue to work with urban planning, financial and architectural experts, as well as with the district’s facilities committee to find a location for the fieldhouse. Staff Writer Michael Hartt contributed to this report.

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