Local Sports

By MEGAN MIDDLETON
Staff Writer

A new drainage system at the varsity fields at Robert E. Lee and John Tyler high schools should make it safer for students to use those fields, Tyler ISD officials said.

TISD closed the fields earlier this month to conduct maintenance, which includes the installation of a new drainage system and reinstallation of Bermuda turf. The cost for fixing up both fields is a little more than $111,000, officials said.

TISD trustees will consider approving the use of “emergency funds” to correct the drainage situations at the fields during their regular board meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Tim Loper, director of facilities at TISD, said that over the years the drains have become inadequate and raised safety concerns because of their locations on the fields, which are used for multiple purposes, including football and soccer.

Since a soccer field is wider than a football field, the drains were outside the sidelines for football — but inside the sidelines for soccer.

“The main thing is it’s just hazardous,” Loper said. “We were having to cover the drains up when they played soccer to keep anybody from stepping in them. It really wasn’t conducive for football either …

“To correct the problem, we are relocating the drains, installing more drains and a French drain to get the water off the field, and moving them out towards the tracks to get a legal width soccer field on both fields also. That way we can serve everybody.”

In the past, Loper said, a piece of plywood with Astroturf or indoor/outdoor carpeting was placed over the drains, which had, over time, become lower than the playing surface, creating holes — in soccer’s case — on their playing field.

“Over the years of the sand and grass silting in around them, it actually raised the playing surface, which, in turn, lowered the drain,” Loper said.

“We’re adding 24 more of those (drains) … and moving the entire system outward just to make it safer for the kids and to properly drain the field.”

Loper said, “We don’t want to put kids on an unsafe field. To serve as many kids as we need to serve in the district, this was the right thing to do, not only for the soccer kids but for the safety of all of them.”

Danny Long, TISD athletic director, said every middle school plays football on the fields, and ninth grade and junior varsity football also uses the fields depending on schedules. The fields are used for practice by varsity football, varsity boys’ and girls’ soccer, and drill teams use the fields as well. Physical education classes also use the fields.

“It is probably, other than the cafeteria, the most used facility on the campus,” Long said.

TISD plays its varsity soccer games at Tyler Junior College; but, during inclement weather, games can’t always be cancelled and the games have to revert back to the home fields, Long said.

In December, Long made a presentation to the school board showing the condition of the fields. He said at that time he would like the board to look at turf fields for both high schools.

While that is not part of this maintenance project, Long said this week, “This fixes the situation for the fraction of the cost of a turf field.”

TISD Superintendent Dr. Randy Reid said the district decided for now not to put artificial turf on the fields “until we know what our long term solution for high schools is going to be” in regard to facilities.

“Right now, this should create a good, safe solution,” Reid said, adding it still will not be ideal because of the amount of use the fields see.

With the field being used for football and soccer, “We now have kids playing on those fields all winter long with practice. … If you play on them all year long, like we do, they’re going to get torn up,” Reid said. “This will at least take (care of) the hazardous situation that we had with the drains that were actually on the playing field when we played soccer.”

Work at John Tyler’s field is nearing completion this week and work on Lee’s field is expected to be finished within the next couple of weeks.

Loper expects that both will reopen sometime in early August for those in the public who use the tracks for walking and running.

DRAINING WORK: Salvador Vega digs a ditch to install a new drainage system at Robert E. Lee High School to make the fields safer on Wednesday.
((Staff Photo By Tom Turner))