Wildcats celebrate White Field’s new synthetic turf

• After several months of construction, White Field offers students synthetic turf.
• The new field will host football, soccer, softball and the marching band.
• The $750,000 project was privately funded by 13 donors.

NEWARK — Newark High School football teams have called White Field home for 77 years.

But on Thursday, members of the team made history when they practiced — for the first time — on White Field’s brand-new synthetic turf.

Players on the team had been looking forward to testing out the new surface since they found out it was being installed in June, senior Doren Barrett said.

“This is beyond anything I expected,” he said Thursday before practice started. “I think this really pumps up our team. We are going to have our own swagger on our field.”

The $750,000 privately funded project is part of a long-term effort to renovate the football stadium, which was built in 1938.

“It’s a big, giant first step for us to do somethings to improve that facility and modernize it a little bit,” Superintendent Doug Ute said.

Although the stadium’s grass field served the district well for many years, the ground took a lot of wear and tear every season, athletic director Jeff Quackenbush said.

The uneven ground could cause safety issues for players on the field, he said. The Pride of Newark Marching Band had to cancel its annual band competition several times because rainy weather made the field unsafe.

The conversation about replacing the grass with turf has been ongoing for several years, but things got serious in January, when Quackenbush met with the district’s administration about field renovations.

Newark Development Partners, a nonprofit community improvement corporation, stepped up to help raise money for the project.

Dan DeLawder, the nonprofit’s chairman and chairman of Park National Corp. and Park National Bank, led the charge, collecting contributions from 13 donors.

“The commitment that group made for our kids and our school district is very much appreciated,” Ute said.

The district worked with the Motz Group — which also has done turf fields at Licking Valley, Watkins Memorial and New Albany — to install the field.

Work began June 22, and despite a 12-day delay due to rain, the project was completed on time, Quackenbush said.

Once the grass was removed, the field was graded and a drainage system, water lines and an electrical system were installed.

About 125 tons of sand and 4,000 tons of limestone were used in the construction.

Pieces of turf were placed on the field and sewed together before being covered with rubber pellets, Quackenbush said.

A new fence was placed around the field, and new play clocks were installed at each end zone.

Now that the turf project is completed, the district is hoping to find ways to make other improvements. The district’s ultimate goals include building a new concession stand in the northeastern corner of the field, adding new ramps and railings for the stands, and renovating the restrooms.

“That’s the next phase,” Quackenbush said. “We’d like our kids to have the best facilities possible.”

As football coach Mike Kopachy looked at the field Thursday, the word that came to his mind was “beautiful.”

“I’m just so thankful for the private contributions that led to this,” he said. “(The players) are really excited. They are the first team to play on this field and hopefully get victory. That really means a lot to them.”

The football team won’t be the only ones using the field. The Pride of Newark Marching Band will step on the turf at football games and hold its annual competition in the stadium.

Newark Catholic High School will play its varsity football games there, as will Newark’s middle school football teams. It will be an option for tournament and playoff games.

Both Newark’s boys and girls soccer teams will have games on the field and the baseball and softball teams will be able to practice there when the season starts in late spring, Quackenbush said.

“That’s the beauty of it for the district, is the multipurpose use of it,” Ute said. “It’s really nice for our kids and our programs.”

Members of the marching band have been driving by the field all summer to monitor its progress, said Ross Hodge, assistant field commander.

“We are really excited,” he said. “It’s an awesome experience to have a field like that,” he said.

After years of having to navigate slippery grass and mud during rainy games, it will be nice to march on a consistent surface, said Jeremy Burgess, the band’s head field commander.

“It will feel so much better and look so much better,” he said.

Hundreds of parents, students and athletes visit White Field every year. For many, it’s their only impression of Newark, band director Zak Wilkins said.

“They don’t drive by the high school or the square. They come to the football game,” he said. “I think it’s important as a community that we rally and support that. This is a great showing of how the community is supportive of the district.”

Now when drivers pass the stadium on Ohio 79 or 11th Street, they’ll see a bright new field proudly welcoming them to the home of the Newark Wildcats, Ute said.

“To me, it’s kind of like a billboard for all the positive things going on in downtown Newark,” he said.

ajeffries@newarkadvocate.com

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Twitter: @amsjeffries