The beeping of cranes rings as construction of the Coppell High School fine arts rehearsal building progresses behind Buddy Echols Field.
Concerns with limited space and safety hazards due to occupancy limits in the current CHS fine arts hall have existed for years. In 2018, the District Visioning Committee first explored constructing a new fine arts rehearsal center.
However, it was not until Coppell ISD’s $321 million bond was approved in May 2023 that the 46,593 square-foot building was set to begin construction.
When the current choir and band facilities were built in 1988 and 2000, respectively, it was to accommodate a total of 40 choir students and 200 band students. However, the programs have grown substantially.
There are currently more than 250 students in choir classes and nearly 500 students in band.
“The term we used a lot during the development processes was ‘right-sized’ because we needed to properly account for space for each program,” Coppell ISD fine arts director Gerry Miller said.
Apart from band and choir, the dance, cheer, Lariettes drill team and color guard programs are projected to move to the fine arts rehearsal building as well.
“Dance has been a program offered in Coppell since the 1970s, but they never had a space dedicated to them, which was a problem,” Miller said. “With this new building, we are creating dedicated spaces for not just dance, but cheer, Lariettes and color guard as well.”
Coppell Band sophomore Silver Moore said there are pros and cons to having a new rehearsal building.
”The new building is going to be a lot farther from CHS so walking back and forth between them brings its own set of problems,” Moore said, “However, I’m super excited for the opportunities it brings to our program. As a percussion player, moving out our instruments will be so much easier because of the new building’s vicinity to the practice field.”
With fine arts programs departing the main building, the vacated space is planned to be reallocated to Career and Technical Education programs.
“We’re going to expand our CTE programs and that gives students more room to spread out and do some of the hands-on things involved with CTE,” CHS Principal Laura Springer said.
As a result of weather delays, the initial completion date in August 2025 has been pushed back to October 2025. Miller said students and faculty will move into the new building fully by this time next year.
“I would definitely say by January 2026, everyone will be fully situated in the new building,” Miller said, “I’m looking forward to seeing our students settle into the building.”
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