Lexington High School breaks ground on new synthetic turf field and track
Golden shovels in hand, a group of educators, commissioners and athletes broke ground on a new football field and track surface Tuesday at Lexington Senior High School.
The improvements to Philpott Memorial Stadium will be substantial, with synthetic turf adding a soft, year-round green playing field and track surface upgrades on the level of the Olympics.
"I’m glad that the board decided it was time to make this happen for our kids and our community," Lexington City Schools Superintendent Dr. Anitra D. Wells said at the ceremony.
"This is going to be an opportunity for our community to come together. It is going to be an opportunity for Lexington City Schools and the City of Lexington to gain revenue.
"This is our way of increasing and being a part of economic development for the City of Lexington and Davidson County," she said.
The project's $1.5 million cost is being paid with money from the Davidson County Board of County Commissioners' surplus sales tax fund, LCS Board of Education's general fund and state-issued lottery funds.
Besides Lexington High events, the site can generate revenue through AAU tournaments, conference and state matches and facility rentals.
AstroTurf Corporation, based in Lexington, will begin work on the field in the next two to three weeks, according to regional sales manager Garrett Bare.
The first step is excavating the natural field.
"A lot of that soil will go to the practice field, which will be improved as well," Bare said.
Then, a stone drainage base will be installed and the synthetic turf will go on top of it.
The vertical drainage system can take 30 to 40 inches off the field in an hour, Bare said.
"For the field to ever see a lot of standing water or anything like that, we’d have to see a tremendous amount of rain at one time.
"That’s why these fields have become so popular: They’re less maintenance, also we can make them safe. We don’t have to worry about a lot of footing issues that you’d typically have to deal with," Bare said.
The turf is made of polyethylene artificial grass, softer than then older astroturf syle of nylon, which was more abrasive.
A silica sand and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) mixture used as infill after the turf is installed. "That provides the give and ball reaction to mimic a very high-level natural grass playing surface," Bare said.
As for the track, the existing surface will be removed with some of the existing asphalt milled down and then a new layer of asphalt added.
A new surface of polyurethane will go on top.
"It's an Olympic-level track system," Bare said.
The complete project will give the Yellow Jackets a football field and track more akin to college facilities than other high schools in North Carolina.
Lexington's pro athletes on hand
Among those on hand for Tuesday's groundbreaking ceremony were former Lexington greats Deems May (two state championships at Lexington, UNC, NFL), Joe McIntosh (NC State's ACC Rookie of the Year in 1981, NFL) and Cory Holt (state-record eight touchdowns in a Jackets game in 2002).
"I have a lot of great memories on this field," May said. "I was fortunate enough to play a little bit afterwards but, I tell you, to step back on here, the memories are bigger than any I had at North Carolina or in the NFL.
"There’s nothing that can bring a town together and galvanize a city like football can, so this is a start. We’ve got great leadership here, we’ve got a great coaching staff, and Lexington football will be back soon."
The near future of Lexington football was represented by players who will be among the first to christen the new field.
One of them, rising senior Christopher Cartrette, said: "This field has been part of my life since I could walk. ... It’s a big blessing to be able to see it renovated and it’s an honor to be able to play on it."
A vision brought to life
Lexington Athletic Director Ronnie Beverly remembers talking about this day more than a decade ago when he came back as an administrator at his alma mater.
"I am overwhelmed," he said Tuesday.
"It’s a great collaboration between the county commissioners, stakeholders utilizing grant dollars in the right way, and the board buying into the vision.
"This is going to be mind-blowing for this community."
Citing an "investment in our student-athletes," Beverly pointed out that the cost of the projects takes nothing away from academics.
"It was a learning experience to see how these dollars were allocated, moved and shifted around so that we wouldn’t take anything away from instructional, from teachers and students," he said. "We didn’t want that to happen at all."
As eager as Beverly is to see field renovations come to fruition, he's looking forward to more for the Yellow Jackets, citing plans for new concession stands, lights and, ultimately, the school itself.
"We’ve got all these amenities and businesses that want to see growth, but the school is 70 years old," he said. "We can only do so much painting and patching and repairing. It’s time."
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This article originally appeared on The Dispatch: Lexington High School synthetic turf field and track project stars in April
