GAINESVILLE — Is the future of Hall County high school stadiums fast approaching as other school systems around the area, state and nation have begun the transformation to turf fields from natural grass?
Maybe, maybe not.
On Monday, Hall County School District Superintendent Will Schofield presented a $12 million ‘Extra-curricular Activity Area Improvements’ proposal to the board of education as part of a 10-year facility expenditure/revenue GO Bond summary that could include turf fields for six of the system's seven high schools -- Cherokee Bluff, Chestatee, East Hall, Flowery Branch, Johnson and West Hall. North Hall installed a new turf field before the 2018-19 school year as part of a private donation to the school from the Lynn Cottrell Fund.
However, the fate of turf fields for the other six high schools will rest in the hands of the Hall County voters.
The overall GO Bond plan, an estimated $258 million, is intricately tied to the passage of ESPLOST VI and a bond referendum; both of those questions will go before the voters in March 2020.
Towns County installed a new turf field for the 2019 season and beyond. Other northeast Georgia schools -- Habersham Central, Dawson County and Lumpkin County -- all recently, within the last five years, installed turf fields as well.
Stan Lewis, director of communications and athletics for the Hall County Schools, said turf fields were just one of several areas the system would look to address if the GO Bond is approved.
“The 10-year facility plan has $12 million set aside to address improvements for extra-curricular activity areas,” Lewis said. “We are in the early stages of the plan.”
Lewis said they are exploring the following ideas:
- Installing artificial turf in some of the high school stadium athletic fields.
- Installing visitors bleachers in some of the high school stadiums.
- Making improvements to some of the press boxes.
- Installing 8 lane tracks at some of the high schools.
- Installing AC in middle school gymnasiums.
Lewis also said every facility at every school will be evaluated as individual projects.
“An in-depth evaluation of current athletic facilities will be conducted to determine feasibility and timeline,” Lewis said. “No specifics regarding which schools receive what and when have been determined. Again, all of this is in the very, very early stages.”
However, when asked about plans if the ESPLOST is not approved?
“We will continue to try and do the very best with what we do have,” Lewis said.
(AcessWDUN’s B.J. Williams contributed to this story.)
