Denita Reavis
The Alexander County Board of Education approved a contract Wednesday to place turf on the high school football field and expand the track at Alexander Central. The money is part of $62.8 million dollars statewide that lawmakers set aside in the last year’s state budget for athletic upgrades at schools. Shortly after the budget agreement was reached last September, Representative Jeffrey Elmore and Senator Eddie Settle announced $2.5 million dollars had been designated for Alexander Central. Similar awards were made in Surry, Yadkin and Wilkes counties.
GeoSurfaces, out of Mooresville, will install what’s known as pivot turf on what’s called Glen Wilson Field. Most recently, the company did a remodel of the track and field at North Iredell High School for $3.7 million dollars.
The project will also include an eight-lane track, a new high jump, two long jump/triple jump pits, and a new pole vault runway and pit. The expansion will allow AC to host bigger track meets with more teams. According to ACS Chief Finance Officer Sharon Mehaffey, about $300,000 dollars in directed grants will help cover the rest of the costs for the track renovations. The track money was earmarked by state senator Dean Proctor before redistricting placed him in a district to represent Caldwell and Catawba counties. The redistricting means Senator Settle now represents Alexander County. Board member and current Board Chair Robert Arguelles thanked Senator Settle for having the turf money placed in last year’s state budget. The $2.5 million is also a directed grant, which means the funding is a one-time expense. Another $100,000 in the NC budget was labeled as money for ACHS fieldhouse upgrades but the district is waiting on the Office of State Budget and Management (OSMB) to approve the scope of work submitted for the fieldhouse.
The turf project will start immediately after the June 7th graduation. Athletic Director Nathan Robinson believes the work will not affect any of the fall sports’ schedules. The football team has a scrimmage game planned for August 9th, and the soccer team will play the first game of the season on August 12th. The first home game for football is scheduled for August 23rd against Statesville. It will take a bit longer than August for the track upgrades.