Taxpayers, Not Private Group, Likely To Fund Hinsdale Central Athletic Facility Overhaul

HINSDALE, IL – A private group announced in 2025 that it was raising $6 million to overhaul Hinsdale Central High School's athletic facility, known as the Bouchard Center.

But the school district's superintendent said Friday that the district was poised to pick up the costs itself.

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Despite that, the private group's website, "Bouchard Center Transformation," remains the same, still seeking donations. It has not returned messages for comment.

The project would feature an expanded athletic training facility, an expanded weight-training area and the addition of restrooms, the group says.

The donations go through the nonprofit Hinsdale Central Foundation.

Hinsdale High School District 86 is acquiring $82 million in debt to pay for building projects, many of them athletic.

In an interview, Superintendent Chip Pettit said the administration is proposing that the debt, in part, finance the athletic facility improvements.

"If the private group would like to contribute, that would be great," he said.

Pettit said the administration was prepared to move forward with a comparable project at Hinsdale South High School.

He said he was unaware of how much the Hinsdale Central Foundation had collected for the Bouchard Center project.

He noted the projects are pending the school board's approval.

On Tuesday, the board's finance committee is meeting for the first time in four months. Members are set to discuss the priorities for the debt.

The session is set for 4:30 p.m. at the district's central office, 5500 S. Grant St.

In January, the committee reviewed bids for the Bouchard Center project. The panel made no decision, saying more money was needed.

At the meeting, officials said there were uncertainties with the fundraising, according to the minutes.

"Members (noted) that meaningful dollars and formal written pledges are not yet secured," the minutes stated.

Members said they were uncomfortable with recommending a bidder to the board until a large share of the money had been raised. They suggested a threshold of $4.5 million to $4.8 million.

The two bidders were the contractor-architect teams of All Construction-JP Architects and F.H. Paschen-Arcon Associates.

The highest-ranked team was All Construction-JP Architects, which bid at $6.3 million.