The football field closed off to undergo renovation Monday, May 4 and was finished Friday May 15. The field is remaining closed and will not reopen until graduation on June 12, so the Renaissance Assembly will be held on the practice field next to the track. After graduation, the field will be fenced off until the fall of next school year so the roots may develop a firmer foundation.
After an official surveyor declared the field unsafe with its bumpy and uneven surfaces, the district decided to have it redone.
“There’s different places where over the years, soil has compacted and created low spots and high spots,” Assistant Principal Kevin Herington said. “We don’t want to risk any injury to our athletes, the opposing schools, the band, or anyone who is using our field.”
On Monday, Mariposa Landscaping, the company in charge of the project, brought in their equipment and began the reconstruction. There was a minor incident with vandalism in which the offender poured dirt into the hydraulic equipment and the fuel tank, but it did not significantly delay the project.
“They’re scraping out all the old grass, rotilerating and aerating the soil, leveling it and rebuilding the natural crown that should be in the middle of the field that should slope gradually towards the sidelines,” Mr. Herington said. “Then they will seed it and it will remain closed until graduation.”
After the completion of the field, it will take four to six weeks for the grass to grow in and have the field look like it used to. The finished field will have a much smoother and consistent surface.