After about a decade of wear and tear, Snohomish’s Veterans Memorial Stadium will undergo a face-lift.
Demolition is set to begin June 27th at Snohomish High School’s athletic stadium, where workers will remove the faded, essentially rock-hard turf in favor of a new state-of-the-art surface. The field should be ready for use sometime in mid- to late-August, according to Snohomish High athletic director Mark Albertine.
The new synthetic surface will consist of layers of rubber and sand and is designed to be similar to grass. The FieldTurf company will oversee installation of the Prestige fiber turf. Albertine and several Snohomish School District officials began researching renovation possibilities in September 2004. After hours of research, including visits to numerous athletic fields in and outside of Washington, Albertine said everyone is pleased with the final choice.
Snohomish football coach Mark Perry and Dan Pingrey, coach of the school’s boys and girls soccer teams, were both involved in the turf-selection process. “They both agreed that we are happy with the product we got,” Albertine said.
The project cost is $516,397 plus tax, according to Scott Hodgins, the district’s director of capital projects, and Don Gross, district project manager. That figure is more than $100,000 below the original budget of $630,000. Funds for the project came from previous approved bonds.
The current surface at Veterans Stadium is notorious for its body-bashing firmness. Its 10-year life cycle has clearly expired, Albertine said. Seams have been unraveling and frequent repairs were getting expensive. The deteriorating turf became a potential injury risk.
“This is like playing on concrete,” Albertine said of the current surface. “It creates leg weariness.”
Albertine said he hasn’t noticed a significant increase in athletic injuries at Snohomish the last few years but the possibility has been a growing concern. The new field will be much more inviting.
“The product we’re getting,” Albertine said, “is the next generation of synthetic surface with the most grass-like playability.”
E-W’s Olsen picks Lewis and Clark: Edmonds-Woodway’s Chelsea Olsen has signed a letter of intent to participate in volleyball and track at Lewis and Clark College, according to E-W volleyball coach Mike PIttis. Olsen is a four-year track letter winner and a two-year letter winner in volleyball. She was a senior co-captain for E-W in both sports and set a school volleyball record with a 100-percent serving average.
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