A groundbreaking ceremony was held Monday to celebrate the complete resurfacing of the school district’s football field with synthetic turf and an eight-lane track that will wrap around the facility. New LED lights will be added to completely update the facility.
“One thing I got from our students through last year was, ‘Mr. Faulkner would you please build us a track?’ and we felt like that was a goal for us,” said Superintendent Jason Faulkner. “That was a four-year goal for me, and luckily we were able to do it in just over two.”
Faulkner said he is really excited about the $2.2 million project and the colors had already been picked out.
“We have alternating shades of green for every 10 yards and our big Adair County Athletic A right in the middle of it. We’ve got “Roll Tribe” on one end zone and “Adair” on the other,” he said.
“This will serve a ton of kids in our district.” said Faulkner.
The football team, track team, band, and others will be able to use the facility without having to go elsewhere to compete in their sport. With the synthetic turf, there is no concern about tearing the field up or damage from rain.
Faulkner thanked State Rep. Amy Neighbors, who was in attendance for the groundbreaking, as well as Sen. Max Wise for helping to secure extra funding for the middle school, which freed up funds that allowed the district to fund this project.
“We are very appreciative for the work they have done in Frankfort,” he said.
“This is going to be something to be proud of. We have people all the time that walk on our campus and we plan on keeping it open to allow the public to use it as much as possible,” said Faulkner.
Faulkner and members of the school board stepped onto the field to break ground and were joined by others in the district and local officials.
Adair County football coach Bryan Cross is very excited about the new turf.
“As far as the game, there’s not a huge difference in grass and turf once you are used to it. It’s all the stuff you can do beforehand. You don’t have to worry about mud, slipping and sliding, or tearing up the field.”
Chris Janes with Caliber Construction is preparing the field for the turf, and The Motz Company will be installing it. Janes is optimistic that the field will be ready for the first football game on Aug. 22.
By Amy Pike
amy@adairvoice.com
