BLAIR OAKS - The high school's first football field neared completion this week, as the school board took a last look to make sure everything is ready for the upcoming season.
The $2.5 million Blair Oaks Sports Facility is already popular, although it's not even ready yet.
"It's unbelievable. In the evenings, people come around here to see what's going on and they walk the track even though it's not complete, yet they're really excited about it," said Dave Bieth, board president.
"It's going to be a facility that's going to get a lot of use," said Superintendent James Jones. "We don't have to worry about tearing it up because it's obviously got a tremendous life."
The school expects the synthetic turf field to last 12 years, saving money and increasing safety from previous years when the track team had to run on gravel and in the streets.
"The last few years, we've always had some bad shin splints, even some stress fractures, because of the pounding they take," explained Leroy Bernskoetter, assistant track coach. "And now we'll be able to go off this turf and it should help a lot."
Blair Oaks expects its sports facility to be completed in about a month, with the first home football game scheduled for Sept. 1.
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