Shabby field could receive renovation
DEBBY ABE; The News Tribune
In the just-completed football season, it became a ritual before nearly every game: workers gluing down the rips and tears of the aging Astroturf at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup.
Bad scrapes and turf burns were common for the players who dived and tumbled on the decrepit carpet.
And as they waited for their injuries to be wrapped on rainy nights, players could watch glistening puddles form on the 20-year-old track surface that’s losing its ability to drain.
For those reasons and more, Puyallup School District officials are considering whether to undertake $1.6 million worth of renovations at the stadium.
District leaders are concerned about public disapproval over using unspent construction dollars on a sports facility. But they’re also worried that the stadium is more than shabby – it’s downright unsafe.
“It’s such a compelling issue. It’s borderline negligent not to do it,” said board member Bruce Dammeier. “We owe those student athletes a safe facility.”
Sparks is the home field for football, soccer and track teams for Puyallup, Rogers and Emerald Ridge high schools, and for PE classes from nearby Puyallup High. It’s continually rented out for youth soccer and football, summer sports camps, and other community uses. It’s the home field for Pacific Lutheran University’s football team.
At a study session last week, district administrators gave Puyallup School Board members an overview of the sorry state of the 20-year-old stadium’s track, sound system and scoreboard – all as old as the stadium – and the 10-year-old artificial field.
While the stadium stands are in good condition, Rick Wells, district director of athletics, health and fitness, said:
• Heavy use, ultraviolet exposure, and age are causing the Astroturf carpet to deteriorate. Bare spots are many, stitches are failing and seams are fraying beyond the point of adequate repair.
• The track covering is supposed to stick to the asphalt layer on the ground, but its failing adhesive allows workers to lift the covering as if it were an area rug. Its once-fluffy, porous surface has been worn flat, making for puddles on rainy days and causing further wear.
• The sound system is barely audible on the visitors side, and none of the base speaker membranes work. The control components are so outdated they can’t hook up a CD player or any source other than a microphone.
• Moisture seeps into the worn scoreboard. Workers use a hair dryer on its components to ensure they work on competition days.
The field’s padding and cushioning still meet safety standards intended to prevent concussions and broken bones, Wells said. But other types of injuries are a problem.
Abrasions on elbows and other exposed skin are more prevalent at Sparks than on grass or newer types of artificial turf, according to Christopher Seagrave, a physical therapist who has worked with athletes at Sparks. “Turf toe” foot injuries and high ankle sprains are also thought to be more prevalent.
“It’s very abrasive,” Puyallup High football coach Tom Ingles said in an interview. “It’s also unforgiving. When your feet plant with big cleated shoes, it doesn’t give like grass or newer (artificial) surfaces.”
Tyler Van Sligtenhorst, a quarterback and safety for the Rogers Rams, suffered a high ankle sprain that he believes was due to Sparks’ Astroturf. The injury during an Oct. 26 game prevented him from playing in the following week’s playoff.
“Astroturf sticks when it’s dry,” said the 17-year-old, who prefers the newer FieldTurf surface that he played on as a freshman at Cascade Christian. “I went to tackle someone … and all the weight was coming at me. The weight hit, but my ankle didn’t move. I don’t think it would have stuck on grass; it would have given.”
Administrators’ $1.6 million proposal includes $871,000 to install a newer-generation artificial turf with grasslike blades and a sand and rubber filling. The request estimates the track renovation at $415,000, the sound system at $187,000 and the scoreboard at $127,000.
The same upgrades were included in the $259.5 million school construction bond that Puyallup voters narrowly rejected twice this year.
If board members approve the renovations at their Dec. 10 meeting, the dollars would come from $21 million left in undesignated state matching funds resulting from the district’s 2004 school construction measure. The district has used the undesignated funds to cover rising construction costs, projects like Carson and Edgerton elementary schools, and projects that need to be done immediately.
At the study session, School Board members seemed to agree that the stadium upgrades were necessary.
They were concerned about the public perception the next time the district asks voters to pass a school construction measure.
So was the district citizens committee that oversees the 2004 bond implementation, said Debra Aungst, assistant superintendent of education support. But the committee voted unanimously to recommend the improvements.
Board President Lloyd Freudenstein noted that while board members and district staff recognize the seriousness of the district’s facility needs, not all of the public does. The district’s second bond election this year, in May, failed to reach the 60 percent supermajority by 0.85 of a percentage point.
“Everything in my mind comes to what can we do to pass the next bond issue,” said Freudenstein, whose term on the board is about to end.
“What could we have done to get that last 1 percent.”
Debby Abe: 253-597-8694
debby.abe@thenewstribune.com
Artificial fields rated
The aging artificial turf at Sparks Stadium rates a grade of “D” in the eyes of the South Puget Sound League.
In spring 2006, district athletic directors in the league surveyed themselves to get a group sense of each district’s artificial playing surface and overall stadium facilities, including parking, ambience, accessibility and other factors. They were planning for potential post-season games, which state athletic rules require be played on an artificial surface.
Starting this summer, the worst-ranked facility in the survey, Federal Way’s 36-year-old Memorial Stadium, will begin an 18-month phase-in of $1.2 million in improvements, including replacement of the 12-year-old Astroturf field and lights, seismic retrofitting, and improvements in parking and access for people with disabilities. State matching funds resulting from last May’s passage of a $149 million bond will finance the renovation.
Here are results of the South Puget Sound League’s spring 2006 survey of stadiums with artificial fields:
School DistrictStadiumFieldOverall
graderanking
BethelArt Crate Field, SpanawayA#1
KentFrench Field, KentA#4
CurtisViking Field, University PlaceB#2*
SumnerSunset Chev Stadium, SumnerTB#2*
TahomaTahoma Stadium, CovingtonB#5
AuburnAuburn Memorial, AuburnC#6
PuyallupSparks Stadium, PuyallupD#7
Federal WayFederal Way Memorial, Federal WayF#8 Note: Franklin Pierce and White River school districts, whose stadiums have artificial turf, were not part of the South Puget Sound League until fall 2006. Enumclaw, another district in the league, plays on grass at King County Field. The league hasn’t taken a stadium survey since spring 2006.
