Comedian Nate Bargatze returned to his old Nashville-area high school this week for a groundbreaking ceremony on a new indoor athletic facility that will carry his name, according to reporting from News Channel 5 Nashville. The 1997 Donelson Christian Academy graduate contributed $1.5 million toward the project, the station reports, marking one of the more personal homecomings for the comedian turned donor.
According to News Channel 5 Nashville, the facility is planned to cover 36,000 square feet and will include a turf field, locker rooms, a weight room, baseball and softball hitting space, and even a golf simulator. The station reports the project is scheduled to open in August 2027. Earlier coverage from wsmv.com described the Bargatzes' involvement differently, reporting that Nate and his wife, Laura, had donated a $650,000 lead gift along with an additional $650,000 matching gift at the time; that earlier report does not establish whether the full matching amount was ultimately donated, and the two figures have not been reconciled.
A Decades-Long Dream Finally Breaking Ground
Donelson Christian Academy had discussed and dreamed about building a facility like this for more than 30 years, per the station's report. Athletic director Dennis Goodwin said the new space will serve far more than just sports teams, according to the same account, with uses planned for athletes, the marching band, cheerleaders, PE classes, preschoolers and special events.
The 2024 wsmv.com report outlined DCA's broader vision for the space at the time, describing plans for competitive athletic facilities, state-of-the-art strength training, multipurpose space for band and early learning, and new locker rooms and offices. The school said then that the facility would allow it to better serve all of its Wildcats by creating a space usable for multiple purposes throughout all of its seasons, per the same source.
Bargatze Reflects on His Own Time as a Student
At the groundbreaking, Bargatze offered some self-deprecating reflection on his own athletic career at DCA, saying he was cut in the little gym as a student and joking that he probably would have been cut from the new facility's teams all four years, per News Channel 5's report. He also said his success and his ability to give back felt like a blessing and part of God's plan, according to the station.
This is not the first time DCA has honored its famous alumnus. The school previously named its main gymnasium after Bargatze, according to a separate wsmv.com report from January. With the new indoor complex also bearing his name, Bargatze now has two facilities named after him at the school, per News Channel 5's reporting.
Fundraising Still Underway
A fundraising page for the project on dcawildcats.org lists a goal of $2.5 million, with a total of $2.25 million raised, though the evidence reviewed for this report carries no date, so that total should not be treated as current. The same page shows that one of the facility's two planned locker rooms, priced at $75,000 each, had been funded while the other remained available, and that a $15,000 advertising display sign sponsorship was also still available at the time the page was reviewed.
