Foundation work has started on the $150 million first phase of River Islands High.

And while it won’t be completed until 2024, the helmets and uniform for the Riptide football team are already ordered and the head coach hired.

That’s because the school’s freshmen class is already in place as part of the Epic Academy campus that opened this school year. Those students will form the upper class when River Islands opens for the 2024-25 school year with juniors, sophomores, and freshmen.

The Riptide will field its first football team in the fall wearing Navy blue, teal and white — the school colors inspired by Coastal Carolina.

Their home field won’t be ready until 2024. And it won’t be part of the campus.

Instead, it will be built and owned by River Islands. It is going next to the Islanders’ Ball Field near the town center to allow for maximum community use. The stadium, when completed, will seat 4,000.

They will be practicing later this year on a practice field inside a 9-lane all-weather track now being built at the school campus. Curbing was being put in place on Monday.

The field surface will be artificial turf complete with the use of  non-portable water to help cool the playing surface as well as clean it.

Next to the track will be tennis courts and outdoor basketball courts that will be accessible to the public during non-school hours.

And adjacent to those facilities will be a 20-acre community park — one of three planned at River Islands.

The Department of State Architect gave its final approval for the school plans Dec. 21. Heavy rains, however, delayed actual work on the foundation until last week.

On Monday, crews were working on the footings for the first of two 2-story classroom buildings that will be built initially as well as a career technical education center. The first phase also includes the big gym, locker-room, cafeteria, and band complex and the two-story administration building.

A second phase that will start several years after the first is finished, will include a third 2-story classroom structure, a black box theater, and a small gym.

Altogether, there will be roughly 300,000 square feet in the first phase.

Educators working with River Islands  Academies spent several years touring high schools up and down California to come up with the design and what they wanted included in the campus.

The administrative complex that includes the media center has dedicated space for an expansive student store and dedicated space for student government among other touches in the student center.

Originally, the campus was planned for single story buildings.

But after touring other campuses and working to build in everything feasible for academic success into the plans, the decision was made to go for two stories.

“We wanted to create a college feel,” said Susan Dell’Osso, the River Islands CEO that also serves on the board of River Islands Academies.

Banta Unified School District will own the high school campus but it will be operated by River Islands Academies.

The City of Lathrop is expected to locate its performing arts center on land adjacent to the campus providing another dimension for the high school program.

“This will be the only high school campus on River Islands so we wanted to get it right,” said Dell’Osso.

Cambay Group — the firm developing River Islands — has a history of investing heavily into high schools.

Dougherty Valley High — part of the 11,000 plus home planned community Cambay Group built in  Dougherty Valley in the East Bay — up until a few years ago was the most expensive high school campus built in California at $250 million.

That price tab included a football, field and other amenities that River Islands High will have access to but aren’t being built on the campus.

That allows the work to be done for significantly less allowing upgrades and such that otherwise couldn’t be built.

It also means it will be more readily accessible by the community while the maintenance costs will be borne by River Islands and not the school district.

Eventually, there will be an aquatics center in the 15,001-home planned community that River Islands High will be able to use.

The main gym is being designed to provide bleacher seating for the ultimate design capacity of 1,600 students.

The campus main access will be via Riptide Way off of River Island Parkway just east of the current alignment  of Paradise Road.

Paradise Road is being curved to the west to accommodate the community park.

One of the three village centers — Paradise Village — with restaurants, stores, and services — will be built next to the campus as well as a Del Webb community.

The high school is expected to increase the marketability of River Islands.

Dell’Osso noted there have been buyers that wanted to purchase a home at River Islands but because they currently had children that were high school age they didn’t do so. Right now, the only option is for high school students to attend West High in Tracy.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com