FORKS — Quillayute Valley School District is making plans to replace Spartan Field this summer with a $1.25 million artificial turf field with a track.
Construction on the field and track at Forks High School is expected to begin May 5, but there is a lot of work to do before crews can break ground, said Superintendent Diana Reaume.
“We’re still in the design phase,” Reaume said.
Designs for the field, which will shed water instead of absorbing it, include the addition of a stormwater-retention pond on district property.
Spartan Field, which often becomes muddy, is located behind the high school at 261 S. Spartan Ave.
Field Turf, a company that manufactures and installs artificial turf fields, was contracted for the design phase.
The construction phase contract has not yet been awarded.
Construction is scheduled to be complete by Sept. 1, Reaume said.
The district’s 2016-17 school year is scheduled to begin Sept. 1, and the first Spartans football game is scheduled for Sept. 2, against Vashon Island.
“We will be on a very tight schedule,” she said.
The new field is designed to be used with traditional football cleats, so student players will not need to purchase special “turf shoes.”
In addition to the field and track, the district announced a new scoreboard has been donated to the school by the Lloyd Allen Foundation.
Lloyd Allen was the founder of Allen Logging Co., which operated from 1955 through June 2015 near the Hoh River and was the last lumber mill in the West End when it closed.
The scoreboard is expected to cost $20,000 to $30,000, Reaume said.
“They said they want us to get the very best,” she said.
Reaume said the existing scoreboard is reaching the end of its useful life and needed to be replaced.
The field has an excessively high crown running down the middle and can become a muddy mess in wet weather, while the stadium grandstand is crumbling, according to district officials.
In 2014, the Quillayute Valley School Board earmarked $1 million in funds for improvement of the athletic facility.
In May, the city of Forks applied for a grant in collaboration with the school district through the state Recreation Conversation Office.
The city was awarded a $250,000 state Youth Athletic Facilities grant to help replace the field — funds that can be used only for field replacement or must be returned to the state.
The school district and city are also seeking the replacement of the aging, dilapidated Spartan Stadium, which is also expected to cost $1.25 million.
Spartan Stadium, built in 1960 by the Forks Lions Club, is located behind the high school.
The stadium is heavily used for football and soccer in the fall, for track and field events in the spring and by the youth baseball league during the summer.
The stadium’s cement base is crumbling, its roof is rusting and flaking, and some of the wooden support beams are rotting, district officials have said.
The estimated cost for a basic replacement stadium without concessions or restrooms is $850,000.
The addition of concessions and restrooms would raise that estimate to $1.25 million.
City officials can apply next year for a $500,000 state grant to help with the stadium, but the district or city must have matching funds to qualify.
There is no guarantee the district will be awarded the grant, district officials have said.
________
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
