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Southside and Keith are likely going to see spring sports being played on campus beginning in the spring of 2026 after Dallas County Schools broke ground on three new fields on Wednesday.

Keith Middle High School will see a new softball field being constructed on its campus while Southside will get both baseball and softball fields on campus.

Currently, all spring sports teams have to travel to Selma to hold a home game, but school officials are hopeful that these three programs will help them build on the success they have already experienced.

At Keith, the girls softball team has won regular season area championships the last three seasons, earning the right to host the area tournament at the Selma Sportsplex off of Hwy. 80. Head coach Lenoir said while the Selma softball complex has served them well, her team does play at a disadvantage.

A regulation softball field has the outfield fence at 200 feet, but the city complex fields all have fences 300 feet from home plate. Having a typical softball field will help future Keith players be able to be more competitive, especially for state records and awards.

“We have a few girls who can hit it to the fence, but it’s rare that anyone can hit it over the fence,” Lenoir said. “This will not only give us the opportunity not only to advance our students in setting records, but it would also give our students the opportunity to get more familiar with an environment in playoff competition. It’s different when you are playing on a 300-foot field.”

Senior Ja’Kayla Moore knows she won’t get to play on the field, but she’s happy for her teammates to get that opportunity. Principal Tommy Tisdale promised that she can throw out the first pitch for their first game next year.

“It feels amazing,” Moore said. “I’ve been playing since third grade. So to see a field at Keith High School, it feels amazing.”

At Southside, the Panther program will get a baseball field and a softball field. It will be located on the east side of the football field behind the current concession stand.

Athletic director Charles Moody said one of his goals is to improve the on-campus facilities because it’s important to be able to play games, especially playoff games, at home.

“You always wanna be able to play your different sporting events at home,” Moody said. “It’s a great deal to come outside and have your practice facility and your game facility right there on campus. It’s good when alumni come back and people of the community come through and see what we have going on here. We are just really excited for our kids to be able to have their own facility.”

Board member William Minor, who has been pushing getting the fields constructed, said he believes having a facility like this on campus will help the students take ownership and pride in their schools.

“I’m just so glad to see it come to fruition because we just need to have some places that are decent where other teams can feel comfortable to come to,” Minor said. “If the facilities are not up to par, some teams don’t want to come. Like when it’s football time and the locker rooms are not up to par, the visitors won’t come and the state say you don’t have to go over there because the building is so dilapidated. So we’re working one step at a time. That’s not a complaint, that’s to comment. But we’re gonna get everything one step at a time.”

School board members said at a previous meeting that they are looking for ways to get an on-campus field for Keith’s baseball program. However, there wasn’t room on the school property to build a baseball field at this time. Once they are able to find property to put the field on, they will look at ways to obtain funding to build the facility.