Fans making their way out to the Fountain Hills High School home football games this year will likely notice a crisper, clearer sound coming from the home press box.

Speaking of the home press box, fans might also notice that it is now located on the home side of the field.

A few years back, FHHS switched the home bleachers to the side closest to the school, giving locals more room to spread out, a shorter distance to travel and easier access to restrooms and concessions.

The press box remained on the visitors side, however, a facility that, according to Athletic Director Michael Briguglio, has been in need of a facelift for a number of years.

“The Fountain Hills Athletic Booster Club spearheaded the whole thing,” Briguglio said.

“It’s been about three or four years now since we changed the home side. Ideally your press box is on your home side. The chains run on the opposite side and the refs give signals toward the press box, so there are several reasons for wanting to build the new box.”

Along with the need for a new press box, Briguglio said that the high school’s sound system was antiquated.

“We had a few experts out to see if we could upgrade our system and they said that, because of the wiring and everything, we basically needed a new system,” Briguglio said.

“Unfortunately, that was too costly for our budget, so we didn’t go through with it.”

That’s where the Booster Club came in.

Last season, the boosters began a campaign to gather outside donations and sponsorships to fund the entire project.

The goal was to raise funds and have the construction completed by Aug. 1 and, while that date wasn’t quite met, Briguglio said he’s confident it should be ready to roll by the time the Falcons start playing their home games later this month.

Briguglio said that the new box will feature a small AC unit —something the voice of the Falcons, Dana Saar, has had his fingers crossed for over the past 20 seasons — as well as a filming loft and a new sound system.

The former press box can still be utilized by visiting teams, giving their coaches and film crews their own work location.

Framing was completed on the new press box last week, giving workers another couple of weeks to put in the finishing touches. Briguglio said that a generous local contractor also donated its time and services to the project.

All told, the press box improvements total about $40,000, provided by fundraising on the part of the Booster Club, donations and corporate sponsorships.

There’s still room to pitch in, however, and those who are interested in doing so should contact the club at fhhsathleticboosterclub@gmail.com.

“It was a fully privately funded deal through the Booster Club,” Briguglio said.

“And we’re very grateful. The fans will notice the upgraded sound the most, while the coaches will notice the better access for filming and scouting.

“The fans and the team alike will notice the improvements right out of the chute.”