Story Courtesy of Brian Woodham at AuburnVillager.com
With the first football game of Auburn High’s football season three weeks away, the installation of the new synthetic turf at Samford Stadium has ramped up and is on target to be completed by Friday.
“They’ve actually started working a little bit longer hours to stay on target,” said Daniel Chesser, public relations specialist with Auburn City Schools. “You’ve got from end zone to end zone down.”
Chesser said he and Auburn High football coach Adam Winegarden have surveyed the site multiple times over the past week, and that he’s sure Winegarden will take the team out there to check out the turf once it’s complete before the opening game against Carver on Aug. 18.
“That will be the first high school football game in the state of Alabama for the 2016 season,” Chesser said, “so we’re excited about kicking it off in the new stadium with the new turf.”
The turf, which was installed by Sports Turf Company Inc., and improvements to the stadium cost a total of $629,078, with $580,000 coming from a refinanced bond issued to ACS from the city.
ACS estimates that in eight to 10 years, the coast of synthetic turf will balance out the costs of maintaining a grass field.
While the installation of the turf is on schedule to be completed this week, work will continue on other improvements, like landscaping, over the coming weeks and be finished before the first home game.
“I think at any time of the day, if you were to drive by, you’re going to see work being done,” Chesser said.
He added that the response he’s gotten from the public has been “overwhelmingly positive” when he’s posted photos and updates on social media.
“The community’s excited,” he said.
A week after the opening game, the Auburn and Opelika high school bands, as well as the Auburn University Marching Band, will perform at Samford Stadium on Aug. 25 in the annual Band-o-Rama event.
The event will be free and open to the public.