GREENBRIER COUNTY, W.Va. (WVDN) – This fall, the fields and tracks of Greenbrier East and Greenbrier West are going to look a little different, and in a good way.
East is getting new turf and a revamped track. West is also putting down turf to replace the grass field that they have had for years, with a new, updated track as well.
The Greenbrier County Board of Education passed the decision a few weeks ago. The members noticed the growth and popularity of the track teams at each school, and decided to seize the opportunity while they could.
“The board just said, ‘look, we’re going to do it,’” board member David McClure said.
The turf that will be laid is called “field turf,” and it is expected to last for 10 to 15 years. The Spartans’ turf that they currently have has been down for 17 years.
The athletic directors at each school, Jason Stewart at East, and Jared Robertson at West, also received high praise for the decision and got a lot of credit.
“I would give credit to both ADs at each school,” McClure said. “They did the lion share of research, and they called several counties that had turf and looked at all the various products and the availability of what’s on the market and so-forth. They both came to the conclusion that they want to use the field turf. It’s the best product that’s out there.”
That made the decision set in stone and the buying process began there.
“We are buying it through a co-op, a cooperative purchasing agreement for both East and West and the schools will dictate the final look of the turf. It’s going to look really nice,” McClure stated.
One wow factor that may make the new fields stand out from the competition is the actual look of the turf, which will be similar to the Oregon Ducks field, for reference.
“I think they’re leaning towards alternating every five yards light-green, dark-green, light green, dark green and that will look really sharp,” McClure said.
“I think they will settle on that, and it will have the logo in the middle and the logos in the end zone, so it is going to be really sharp-looking,” he reiterated.
As far as the start and completion date is concerned, the projects will start in late May and be finished in early August just in time for the new season. West’s will take a bit longer due to having to do the infrastructure from scratch, but it too is expected to be ready for opening kickoff in 2023.
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