BELLAIRE — There was a buzz around Nelson Field Monday and it had nothing to do with the eclipse.

Bellaire’s football team started arriving for practice shortly before 3 p.m.. For the first time, the players — and coaches — went into their new fieldhouse, which was opened for the first time to the players, to begin game-week preparations for Friday’s visit to River.

Work on the $2M facility began late in the fall of 2016. The work was scheduled to be done in time for two-a-day practices, which began on July 31, but a few late hangups led the Bellaire administration to not accept occupancy of the building until the issues were rectified.

Though the building has a few minor things to be completed, the Big Reds moved their equipment into their lockers after last Saturday’s scrimmage and went to work in it for the first time on Monday.

“(Superintendent) Darren Jenkins, our administration and board did a fantastic job of getting us this physical education facility, which will be able to be used by all athletes,” Bellaire head football coach Mark Spigarelli said. “The building is very beautiful and nice. It’ll be great for all of the sports.”

While the Big Reds’ gridders will certainly get the most use of the facility now, the visitor’s locker room, which is actually bigger than the home portion, will serve as Bellaire’s wrestling room during the winter season. That locker room will then serve as the girls’ track locker room during the spring.

Along with the locker facilities, the building is also home to a state-of-the-art weight room, a coaches room, storage, officials locker room and training room.

“This is a nice addition to the school district and the community should be proud,” Spigarelli said. “It’s great to know that maybe 100 years from now this building will still be standing here. It’s great for the future Big Reds of years to come.”

Spigarelli — like so many of his players — had been anxiously awaiting the go-ahead to use the facility.

“I’ve been watching it literally from the ground up,” Spigarelli said. “I think within a couple of weeks to a month, everything will be finished inside. The five home games and hopefully a playoff game, I think everyone will be very proud of it.”

The Big Reds fans and members of the community will get their glimpse of the building on Sept. 1. An open house is scheduled for 6 p.m., just an evening prior to Bellaire making its home debut against Caldwell the following afternoon.

“This building is much, much better than what we had,” Spigarelli said. “The kids were all wide-eyed when they stepped foot into it for the first time. They couldn’t believe how it’s all laid out. It’s beautiful. The lockers are more than twice the size of what they had. It’s something the kids can be proud of.”

After spending their entire pre-season camp working from their old fieldhouse and trekking down to the field which was formerly home to St. John Central, the Big Reds moved all of their equipment back up to Nelson Field.

Spigarelli offered his sincere appreciation to Jeff Paolina and the Irish Youth Sports group, which allowed Bellaire to utilize the entire facility.

“Jeff was super to us,” Spigarelli said. “We can’t say enough about him and his family for allowing us to use that facility.”

Each morning, the Big Reds gathered at their old fieldhouse, dressed for practice and then headed just down the street. They then returned to Nelson Field and showered.

“We got back here in time, so that wouldn’t become a distraction as we start preparing for the first game,” Spigarelli said.

The next faze of the Nelson Field project got under way Monday when the old fieldhouse was prepped for demolition. It’s expected to begin today and wrap up by the end of the week. That sets the foundation for the installation work to begin on the Big Reds’ artificial turf practice field, which is expected to be done in a few weeks.