SCBOE approves proposal for SCHS Football Field and Track Conversion

In a called meeting last Friday, the Stephens County Board of Education met to approve the proposal from Deluxe Athletics to complete the Stephens County High School Football Field and Track Conversion.

The project will be completed for $1,602,905, plus an additional $50,000 in contingency funds for the Football Field and Track Conversion.

As WNEG News reported recently, Stephens County High School Principal Michael Keown came before the Board of Education to provide an update on all sports facilities in the school system.

Keown said Stephens County High School’s football field needed the most work, especially because of how many teams use the field.

He explained that no major repairs have been made to the football field in 50 years, when the stadium and football field were originally built.

“We feel like, at this point, that our most urgent need is going to be the stadium game field and track. I made some phone calls today to figure out the exact age of that facility and how much work has been done on it in the past. That athletic facility, that track and that field get more use from our athletic program at the high school, middle school, and recreation department than any other field in our system. It’s really a community field. There’s a lot of play on that track and field. The last time that facility had any major work done was in the 70s,” he said.

Keown says anytime there is rain or bad weather it really damages the field.

“The stadium gets used in the fall by the varsity football team, the JV football team, the middle school football team, and five or six different rec. ball teams on Saturdays. And all that traffic combined with bad weather is really detrimental for that field. Schedules in the spring, with soccer teams going, track teams going. We try our best to keep that natural grass in the best playing shape we can. But right now that’s our biggest challenge at the high school,” he said.

During Friday’s meeting a motion was made by Board Member Len Stovall approving the proposal from Deluxe Athletics with Board Member Mark Smith seconding the motion.

The motion was approved unanimously.

In the proposal, Deluxe Athletics includes synthetic turf as well as a synthetic track surface for the Stephens County High School football stadium field and track.

WNEG News will continue to follow this story and bring you updates as they become available.