It has been nearly 40 years since any athletic facility at Lockport Township High School has been renovated, but this summer a brand new synthetic turf field and track were installed in the athletic stadium. The Board of Education met on March 13, 2014 and approved the near $1.6 million project. Construction started  mid May and went until Aug. 8, just in time for school and the football season to start.

When the school board met in March, Superintendent Dr. Todd Wernet presented to the board all the benefits in order for approval, and according to Wernet include, the multi-purpose aspect to the field which entails benefits for Physical Education classes to use during the school day, spring sports to practice on the field while the weather does not permit them to use their facilities just yet, and of course the football team gets to practice on it everyday. Also, over time the field becomes a good financial move because when the weather gets bad the field will not get torn up like a normal grass field would and saves a lot of money in landscaping and repair.

“We’ve expanded the touches on the field…when there’s three or four P.E. classes on there every period that is several hundred students per day that are having access to that.” Dr. Wernet said.

With it being nearly 40 since any changes were made to any athletic facility

Athletic Director Brian Goff said, “The timing was just right.”

The District and Athletics department already had plans to lay down a new track within the next 1-2 years, but if they were to put in a new track and no field no construction could take place for a few years due to all of the back and forth work over the track.

When the project was still in its early stages some people were against the idea of the turf field. Not necessarily because of the cost factor but rather because there is a misconception that athletes have a greater risk of ACL injuries on synthetic turf in comparison to grass fields, which studies have proven this to be false.

“There was a misconception that injuries are greater on turf than grass” said Wernet.

People also had misconceptions that the ground up rubber pieces could cause contamination to athletes if not properly treated or some may carry toxins that could be harmful to whoever uses the field. Studies have also proven this to be false as well.

According to Wernet, the project cost the school roughly around $1.6 million.  While this sounds like a lot of money, it was all based off of a budget project. The district still had around $900,000 left over from the K hallway expansion a few years ago and all that money went straight to the project.

All the other money was budget-based and did not cost any other department or program a penny Wernet said. While yes the athletic department and district took a blow with the project,  over time the field will practically pay for itself. The turf will have to be raked every so often and maintenance will have to be done as well, but in situations such as bad weather the field will not get torn up like a grass field would have and saves money down the road with field repairs.

LTHS looks and plans to take advantage of the new field as much as possible and so far it looks like that is going to happen.

Dan Foley a senior Offensive Lineman for LTHS comments, “The field brings a great new atmosphere and feel to Lockport football. We all are looking forward to it.”