FERRIDAY — What was once the vocational education building at Ferriday High School will eventually become a new field house for the football team, school district officials say.

In the budget the school board adopted Sept. 13, funds were allocated for Ferriday High School to renovate the old vo-tech building on the school’s campus into a field house for athletics teams.

The budget allocated $25,000 for the renovations, but the cost could go beyond that if necessary, school district Business Manager Tom O’Neal said.

“Initially, we were going to tear some offices out of the building and go from there, but to have enough shower and toilet facilities to come up to code, we might have to spend a little more,” he said.

Part of the reason costs might go up is because, to have enough space for the required facilities, a small addition may have to be made to the building, O’Neal said.

“I was concerned we weren’t going to have the space,” he said.

The project hasn’t officially been opened for bids yet, but officials have already met with architects to make plans, Superintendent Kerry Laster said.

“The principal and the coaches at Ferriday High were at that meeting, and they made a few suggestions for changes,” Laster said.

When the renovations are opened up for bid and the construction is eventually started is up to the school board, Laster said.

“We’ll have to talk it over in a meeting with the board and they will have to vote to open the bids,” she said.

Ferriday High School will be the second school in the parish to receive new or renovated field house facilities in the last two years. Vidalia High School’s new field house opened this year. A large portion of the funds for the Vidalia project were raised within the community.

Ferriday High School officials could not be reached for comment.