EWA BEACH, Hawaii (KHON2) — The Ewa Beach community celebrated a moment that has been years in the making — the groundbreaking of a highly anticipated athletic complex facility at James Campbell High School.

On Thursday, March 6, the Department of Education, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke and area lawmakers joined Campbell students and staff to celebrate the special moment.

The $25.3 million facility will feature a new boys and girls locker room building, office spaces, stadium lights, pressbox and bleachers with nearly 3,000 seats.

Officials said the start of the effort was launched nearly 10 years ago.

Sports are not just for athletes, it adds significant things to the student population and teaches things that are not taught in the classroom. The fact that these individuals continue to fight to make sure that our students, our student athletes and the entire community continue to have a full student experience just makes me so inspired.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke

Senator Kurt Febella stressed the importance of the facility for the community, offering a space where everyone can come together to support Campbell athletics.

“To say we’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time would be a significant understatement. Ewa and Ewa Beach have experienced unprecedented growth and the population boom was the original movement toward the west side of Oahu,” said Jon Henry Lee, Campbell High School Principal.

Junior Evette Alacar said the new facility will offer new opportunities for their athletics program and believes the new additions will be beneficial.

Campbell hopes the project will be completed by September 2026.

This is the second phase of the school’s athletic facilities renovation with. The first phase was completed in fall 2023 after a new track and field was added.