Despite ongoing calls for major renovations to the school, current plans include a stadium turf renovation.
Beginning Memorial Day weekend, the stadium’s 11-year-old turf will be replaced. The stadium had real grass until 2013, when they replaced it with artificial turf. Athletic Director Alton Lightsey said that getting new turf “is the only real renovation that I know of.”
Installing new turf takes roughly three to six weeks to complete, depending on the weather conditions. Because of this, the stadium may not be open for student use. Students taking physical education classes spend time on the field, especially towards the end of the year and students do not want to have to do their class in the gym if the stadium is under renovation. “When it gets warm out, going outside to the field during PE is really nice and I hope the renovations don’t interfere with that,” sophomore Kai Schmelzer said.
With the upcoming spring sports season, the installation of the new turf could possibly affect some of the teams that practice on the field. This could especially affect the spring sports teams if they win games during playoffs. The playoff games will extend their season, meaning a need for the field for practice until playoffs are over. Students also play on the field after the season ends, “I am on varsity boys’ lacrosse and me and my friends plan on still practicing on the field after the season ends so hopefully we are still able to do that without the turf renovation interfering,” sophomore Zach King said.
This school was built in 1970 and renovations were made in 2000. MCPS had original plans to renovate the school in 2016, but the country has pushed back the dates for renovations several times. Currently, renovations are planned to take place beginning in 2027.
One recent minor renovation is the new weight room in the basement. Students say that other parts of the school need renovations. “I don’t think our stadium needs renovations, what does need them is our overcrowded parking lot and just the interior of the school that is very clearly outdated,” sophomore Bryson Filbert said.
Students say there should be more renovations to the stadium than just the turf, “I think the stadium bleachers should be renovated because they feel unstable, especially during football season and pep-rallies when there are so many people on them at once,” Schmelzer said.
The stadium bathrooms are a portable style and students have criticisms, “The bathrooms are gross and always super crowded. The bathrooms at other stadiums are always much nicer than ours. I think the school should invest in renovating the bathrooms rather than the turf,” Filbert said.
