Dos Pueblos High School is the only high school in the Santa Barbara Unified School District without a designated press box at its stadium. 

That could soon change.

The Dos Pueblos Media & Athletics Center Committee, the parent-run Dos Pueblos Press Box Committee, students and school leaders are seeking to raise more than $800,000 to get a press box.

“I think some people think it’s a want, but it is a need,” Press Box Committee member Mandy Philips said. 

The official press box would replace a tarp awning that sits at the top of the bleachers at the stadium.

So far, the committee has raised about $200,000, including online donations and pledges, according to Philips.

The committee also expects a $30,000 contribution from the school district. However, the district is not able to commit more than at the moment because of other funding priorities, according to Dos Pueblos High School Principal Bill Woodard.

“Our parents and committee want to make it happen,” he said.

Construction is expected to begin as soon as the committee secures the funds and could be completed within six months to a year.

The committee said having a designated press box also would provide a classroom for the high school’s broadcast news program, DP News. Currently, students have to haul their gear to the makeshift press box from a classroom, Philips said.

“There’s not even good electrical, so they have to do electric cord from outlets and run it up into the stands underneath that tarp,” she said. 

Additionally, during football games, students, the announcer, the person running the clock and coaches have to huddle under the tarp, feet away from the people in the stands.

“It’s hard to hear and hard to communicate with, so having an official state-of-the-art press box up there would enhance everybody’s experience,” Woodard said. 

Junior Johnny Duffy, who plays soccer, said that when he looks up at the stadium and sees the makeshift press box, he wishes he felt proud of it. 

“I don’t feel anything, which just kind of speaks to it in itself,” he said. “A press box should be something that excites the athletes who step onto the field.”

Duffy founded the Press Box Club on campus after attending an assembly in October to get students involved in the fundraising campaign. 

“For me, it has just felt like a weaker stadium and is a little disheartening in the sense to go to all of these schools and know that we are a fantastic educational institution but maybe not have the same athletic support as the other schools do,” he said.

The club, made up of about 15 students, is working toward creating an online alumni database for outreach, managing the committee’s social media and hosting campus events to raise awareness. 

The press box’s function also could be used for more than sports. Goleta uses the school’s stadium as a designated emergency staging site and its Fourth of July drone show. 

“Having a press box with reliable WiFi and electricity would allow for it to really stand up and be the thing that it needs to be,” Press Box Committee member Bill Burton said.

Additionally, the committee said it could be used during graduation to livestream the event. 

Woodard envisions that students in the school’s construction technology program could help build the facility through an apprentice partnership.

“The kids can have a part in building it,” he said. “So in 30 years from now, they can say, ‘Hey, when I was in DP, I helped build this facility,’” he said.  

Community members interested in donating to the campaign can donate online by clicking here.