It's one of the most recognizable pieces of architecture in the North County, a signature structure that sheds a spotlight on the success of the Oceanside High football team.

The Pirates' 11 CIF championships are a large part of the west side of the outside wall of Simcox Field, emblazoned in large green letters for all to see. But aging Simcox Field will be replaced by a new, modern stadium for the 2010 season.

Oceanside is one of six North County schools that will be playing in new and improved football stadiums next season.

Proposition H money, which can only be used for improving old facilities or building new ones, will fund facelifts at Oceanside and El Camino. Prop T money will do the same at Orange Glen, Escondido and San Pasqual.

Carlsbad, which has been without a home football field for two years after arsenic was found in its grass, is well on its way toward having a new facility for the 2010 season.

Oceanside, with the oldest stadium in the North County, and Carlsbad are the only schools getting brand-new facilities. But Oceanside athletic director Dave Barrett promised that the west wall, with the history of the school's football prowess, will survive in some form.

Following is a rundown of what the six local schools have planned:

Oceanside

Simcox Field is coming down and a 4,000-seat stadium will go up in its place.

The home-side stands will be demolished and will be replaced by 2,600-seat bleachers. The visitor's side will be modernized and will include about 1,400 seats.

The stadium will include artificial turf and a nine-lane synthetic track. There will be an enlarged press box on top of the new home side, but the biggest addition will be under the home stands: a 4,000-square-foot weight room and locker rooms.

"Basically, we're going to have a state-of-the-art facility," Barrett said.

Construction will start as soon as the football season ends. The Pirates, ranked No. 1 in the county, are favored to advance to the CIF San Diego Section Division II championship game at Qualcomm Stadium on Dec. 11. With a possible date in the state championship game on Dec. 18, the ground-breaking probably won't occur before January.

"The preliminary plans call for everything to be done in nine to 10 months," Barrett said. "If we don't have a rainy winter, we should be ready to the 2010 football season."

The challenge for the Pirates will come in the winter and spring seasons. Barrett must find home venues for six boys and girls soccer teams in the winter as well as boys and girls track in the spring.

The soccer teams will practice in the baseball outfield, a major hardship for Barrett, who doubles as the school's baseball coach. Track will present its own set of problems.

The infrastructure of Simcox Field is at least 50 years old. The new field will shift a little to the north and west. It will include a plaza area and ticket booths at the entrance. There will be new lights and a public address system.

Barrett is hoping to add an electronic timing system for the track, so the Pirates can host a major invitational.

The stadium and the upgrades around it are a continuation of a campus beautification program that also includes demolishing the current band and weight rooms. A two-story performing arts building will go where the current band room is. The band room will move to where the weight room is.

"When we're all done, this will not only be impressive, but very functional," Barrett said. "This is a very old campus (more than 100 years), so there are some unique challenges.

"But we're certainly moving in the right direction."

El Camino

While Oceanside gets a do-over, El Camino will receive a makeover.

Work on the football stadium is set to start in December and must be completed in time to host the school's June 16 graduation ceremony, according to principal Dan Daris.

The major part of the project will be an artificial turf field and a nine-lane synthetic track. El Camino already has a strong seating foundation on the home side of the field, so the work there will include repairs to seats and the press box as well as the installation of an elevator or lift for access to the box.

The home-side concession stand and restrooms will be upgraded.

The visitor's side will see the biggest changes. Currently, there is one section of permanent seating. The project will add a section on either side of the present seats.

"We're also going to add a concession stand and restrooms to the visitor's side, so people won't have to use the port-a-potties anymore," Daris said. "We're going add a walkway and fencing on the visitor's side, so it should be really nice.

"We're also going to do some work on the lights. Right now, the lights on the visitors' side sit on a hill, which can't support a truck. So when the lights need work, there is only one crane in San Diego County large enough to reach the top. We'll make the lights more accessible so we don't have to wait for that one truck to become available."

In the present setup, fans entering the stadium must traverse a dimly-lit road. Daris said a walkway will be added through the blacktop basketball courts adjacent to the stadium to provide better access. And there will be handicap access to all parts of the stadium when the project is finished.

"It's important for people to know that this is all Prop H bond issue money," Daris said. "By law, that money can only be spent on upgrading or adding facilities. We can't spend it on teachers or books."

Daris added that the football team and its fans won't be the sole beneficiaries. This season, Daris said, 93 football games will be played in El Camino's stadium. Only 15 involve the Wildcats. Pop Warner teams and Tri-City Christian School use the field.

Plus, all soccer matches ---- boys and girls ---- will be played there. And the turf could allow the school to add boys and girls lacrosse.

While the work is being done, the soccer and track teams must find alternate venues this winter and spring.

"I'm sorry about that," Daris said. "But if we don't get a ton of rain, we should be ready to unveil this project at graduation."

Carlsbad

The school's two-year nomadic journey is about to end.

The Lancers wanted a new stadium, but when arsenic was found on their playing surface, the project was delayed and the football team was left to wander for two seasons.

But Carlsbad athletic director Chris Greene said the project is now in full swing and a new stadium with an artificial turf field and nine-lane artificial track should be ready by March 1 ---- just in time for track and lacrosse season. Plus, there will be a new field house.

"The field is in," Greene said. "The scoreboard is in. The restrooms and concession stands are up.

"They still need to get the track and bleachers in, but we're now well on our way. You see progress every day."

Fans will see major differences when they come to the new stadium. The old stadium ran north and south. This one will run east and west. And there is a massive block wall that separates the baseball field from the football stadium.

Some of Carlsbad's teams ---- like boys and girls soccer ---- have been separated from their home field for three seasons. A whole cycle of athletes has gone through Carlsbad without playing a home game.

And some couldn't even practice on campus. The lacrosse and track teams practice at the nearby middle school. The school district spent $70,000 to upgrade the middle school to accommodate those practices. The soccer teams practice at Pine Park.

Plus, Greene said, the school district has spent close to an extra $70,000 busing teams to road games and meets, money that wouldn't have been spent if those events were at home.

"It has taken a long time for this project to come together," Greene said. "But we're excited because now you can see it coming together."

San Pasqual

As with the Oceanside schools, the money to renovate the facilities comes out of a bond issue ---- Prop T.

The day after graduation on May 28, work will start on installing an artificial-turf football field and a nine-lane synthetic track. The field will move about 3 feet east to fit in the track.

The home-side bleachers are in good shape and will stay, but athletic director Andrew Clark said restrooms and a concession stand will be added to the visitor's side. In addition, a multi-use building that will accommodate wresting, dance and aerobics will be built just east of the gym.

"The first game next season is Sept. 3, so whatever company the school district chooses, has three solid months to get the work done," Clark said. "The biggest thing is that all three Escondido schools are getting new fields, so they have to choose a company that's big enough to work on all three sites at the same time and not just shuffle people from one site to the other."

Escondido

The Cougars are ahead of the game because of a $2 million donation from Bob Wilson several years ago.

A synthetic track is already in, the press box is the best in the county, the stadium seats close to 10,000, and the restroom and concessions facilities on both sides are great.

So Escondido will get an artificial-turf field. In addition, two weight rooms, a training room and a music room ---- which will accommodate the band and choir ---- will be built inside the fence just beyond the south end zone. A second, smaller gym will be built just west of the current gym.

"The wrestling room will go in that second gym," athletic director Steve Bridges said. "The second gym won't have bleachers, but it will have all six of our boys and girls basketball teams get a practice in at a decent time. Plus, if we host a wrestling tournament, we can schedule matches in there. And it's going help P.E. classes a ton.

"This is really pretty exciting. All three schools got to put in a wish list, and we got just about everything we wished for."

Orange Glen

Like San Pasqual, Orange Glen will get both an artificial turf football field and a nine-lane track.

The Patriots, however, also will receive upgrades to seats, the press box and concession stands. In addition, they will get a second gym that will go at the end of the student parking lot.

"That gym will accommodate dance, wrestling as well as practice for a lot of sports," athletic director Sam Kristensen said. "There will be some bleachers, so we'll be able to play volleyball and host wrestling matches in a more intimate setting."

Because of poor facilities, Orange Glen gave up hosting the popular Jim Londos Wrestling Tournament and the Orange Glen Invitational track meet. Kristensen said the new facilities will allow the Patriots to revive both events.

The only problems Kristensen sees are timing, hiring a contractor who can work on all three Escondido schools at once and a pesky well that's buried under the football field.

"We're not breaking ground until after graduation, so they'll only have about 75 days to get the field and track done," Kristensen said. "Assuming the right company gets the bid, we might have an issue with a well and the water table under the football field.

"And they really won't know if there are problems until they break ground. If there is a problem, they're going to have to figure it out quickly."

Contact staff writer John Maffei at 760-740-3547.