Crews delivered about 26 rolls of artificial turf Thursday to Parkersburg High School Stadium Field, with installation expected to take about 10 days.

The turf replacement is one of several athletic facility renovation projects in Wood County Schools this year. PHS Stadium Field Committee President Pat McFarland said officials hope to have the new turf fully in place by Aug. 26. Installation began Thursday.

The first home football game for the Big Reds is Aug. 31, but the first game scheduled on the new turf will be a junior varsity game on Aug. 27, followed by a soccer game Aug. 28.

The new turf was delivered in two shipments Thursday, with each roll weighing more than 1,200 pounds, as well as thousands of pounds of sand and rubber infill, which will be used to finish the field.

“They’ll lay it all out and then stitch the field together,” McFarland said. “Unless it is a torrential downpour, that part can still be done if it rains. The infill, however, has to be during a dry time. Rain would make the sand into mud and it wouldn’t go down correctly, so we do need a dry day for that.”

McFarland said this summer the east side bleachers, which have been closed since 2012, were repainted white with red steps. He hopes to add large PHS letters to the bleachers as well.

Though the east side bleachers will still not be open, McFarland said the paint will brighten the entire stadium. McFarland said the committee has begun collecting donations for the demolition and rebuilding of the bleachers, a project which is estimated to cost about $1.5 million.

“We’re hoping the new paint will help restore some pride and get some of those big donations rolling in,” he said.

 

Source: newsandsentinel.com

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