Marty Gordon
NRVnews@ourvalley.org
Christiansburg High School is set to unveil its new turf field at Friday’s benefit game against Carroll County.
The Christiansburg High School football teams have ignored recent rain storms and practiced on the school’s new turf field that shrugs off the moisture.
The new “rug” is part of a $1.5 million project that includes a “rubberized” eight-lane track. Athletic Director Tim Cromer said the synthetic field is complete.
“Work continues on the rubberized track and fencing. We anticipate that work under the Phase I of the athletic project will be completed by Sept. 15. The football field is playable and currently being used for practice and games. Fans may experience some minor inconveniences while we work to complete Phase I,” he said.
The football team was able to begin practice on the field two weeks ago and have already played a scrimmage last week against Auburn.
“The field looks awesome,” said Cromer. “I know that I am partial, but I have coached in other states and seen a lot of fields, and I think you would be hard pressed to find a better-looking field in the country.”
One of the biggest differences to the field is the absence of the crown, and the fact that it will be unaffected by rain.
“If there is no lightning, we will be playing,” Cromer said.
The average life span of a turf field is approximately 10 years. It is the school’s goal to make it last 12-13 years or more, and the management of the facility will reflect that goal.
Principal Tony Deibler is thrilled for their school’s student athletes.
“The turf field for football, soccer, and lacrosse is absolutely beautiful and I am thrilled that our student athletes will have an opportunity to compete in such a great venue,” he said.
Again, the school’s track is expected to be laid down by mid-September and will be ready for spring competition.
“We have never been able to host track events in the past because our track simply could not handle it. With an eight-lane rubberized track, Christiansburg and Montgomery County will have one of the best high school track venues in the state. We already are scheduled to host the region track meet and we are hoping to have the state track championship at CHS. Events like these will bring thousands of people to our community to use our restaurants and hotels. It will benefit all of Montgomery County and the NRV,” Deibler said.
The next part of the project has a price tag of $1.9 million and includes the construction of a field house adjacent to the football field along with a new concession stand, restrooms and an entrance to the field.
Design work is currently underway with actual construction anticipated to begin sometime in 2019.
There will also be a new turf fastpitch softball field, which will be located to the right of the current Christiansburg High School tennis courts. The project will include a press box at the new field and, already work is underway on the field’s surface.
“We are extremely excited to have a softball field on campus for the first time. With the addition of the softball field next to our baseball field, tennis courts, and near to our turf field stadium, CHS will have an athletic complex that will bring the students and community together to support our student athletes like never before. It will be a lot of fun to come out here in the spring and watch softball, baseball, tennis, and some soccer or lacrosse all in the same general venue,” Deibler said.
Nearby, work is being done on the school’s baseball field, which will also receive a new press box and restrooms.
As part of the upgrade, there will be some major changes to access to the public. In the past, members of the community were able to walk or run on the school’s track. That will change with the improvements.
The stadium and softball complex will not be open to the public. Comer knows this is a change in previous policy but with the significant upgrade and investment that has been made, it requires the school to protect the investment of the public funds.
“We will continue to evaluate this matter to ensure that we are being good stewards of the school board and public assets. Those who need a place to walk are welcome to use the parking lot adjacent to the stadium, the oval at CMS or the walking path in Harkrader or use our recreation center. Even for our events, there will never be any unsupervised use of our athletic facilities,” he said.