SACRAMENTO, Calif. – September 29, 2022 - St. Francis Catholic High School is excited to share that plans for our new aquatic complex are moving forward.  The application for the Project was submitted to the City of Sacramento last week, Thursday, September 22, 2022.  

St. Francis has a large percentage of students who currently participate in aquatic activities from swimming, water polo and diving to underwater robotics, and they have to travel to various locations, often at less than ideal times of the day and evening, in order to practice and participate in competitions.

“This long anticipated development of our campus will be of service far beyond athletics. On-site facilities will allow more students to be introduced to STEM opportunities like robotics and to the water as a means of physical fitness, rehabilitation and general health,” said President Fadia Desmond. “This is an investment in the future health of our school and the communities we serve.”  

The planned complex will be situated on the current 21-acre St. Francis campus, utilizing the former National Guard Armory building and grounds purchased by the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento in April, 2014.  St. Francis has been using the building and grounds for athletic and other events, storage and parking.  The Project will also include three regulation sand volleyball courts, a new fitness facility and it will maintain the current route for student pick-up and drop-offs.  

“If there’s any lesson learned from the lockdowns of 2020, it is how important social interaction is for us as human beings.  We are social creatures and having more space designated to gather, to be active and to be social is a huge win for the health and wellness of our students and the St. Francis community,” added Desmond.

Informational presentations have been conducted with the East Sacramento Chamber of Commerce as well as existing neighborhood associations.  Additional informational meetings will be held at future dates.

St. Francis’ ongoing capital campaign seeks the donations necessary to complete this Project.  No government funding is being used for this development.  If the Project is approved by the City, construction is anticipated to begin the summer of 2024.

St. Francis Catholic High School is located in East Sacramento and is the largest all-girls Catholic high school in California and the second largest west of the Mississippi. Academically rigorous, with full accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and a member of the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools, St. Francis draws students from more than 100 area schools across five primary counties in the greater Sacramento region. Visit: www.stfrancishs.org for more information.