On Nov. 23rd, the Board of Education held a meeting to discuss city-wide renovations of both athletic facilities and schools.

Superintendent Bob Hardis, School Board President Mitch Luxenburg and other school board members presented their plan to renovate the athletic facilities, beginning with the football stadium.

Beginning in Aug. 2016, district leaders hope to add turf, lights, a new track and even a new plaza where the concession stand is now.

The long-awaited announcement was greeted with great excitement from Beachwood athletes and fans.

“I think it is great that we are finally getting field renovations,” football team captain Josh Bialosky said. “There’s nothing like a Friday night football game under the lights.”

Bialosky feels it will be great for the community as well.

“Getting turf is great because we’ve played in some really muddy games, including one where I broke my ankle due to the field conditions,” he added. “I will feel much safer once we are on turf.”

According to the presentation, the football field will have Envirofill turf, which appeared to be the best option, according to Athletic Director Ryan Peters.

“Typical turf which most schools have been using is made up of ground up rubber,” Peters explained. “Envirofill is a sand-based product… Cleveland Hts. High school just installed it last year, and it seems to be more eco-friendly.”

The turf will decrease risk of injury. The football field will also be used for soccer and women’s lacrosse when the games are not overlapping. This was not the case in the past, as both the boys and girls soccer teams had to play in the fields behind the middle school instead.

Football fans have been pushing for stadium lights for many years, but now, for the first time, the Board of Education has endorsed their installation.

The lights would allow evening football games, but would also benefit other activities where lights are needed such as soccer and lacrosse.

The track will also be resurfaced.

According to Peters, this was last done five or six years ago.

“The track is at the end of its life,” he said. “It’s not a great surface any more.”

He noted that it is starting to crack and grass is growing through.

“New tracks typically last  between 10-15 years, maybe longer,” Peters added. “The new track will be a little softer, which will help prevent injuries.”

Finally, there will be a new plaza around the field which will include new paths, fencing and easy access for people with disabilities, to make the facilities compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Peters noted many advantages to the new plaza.

“First of all, we can have gates for better security,” he said. “We can collect entry fees, which we are not able to do right now with soccer.”

“It will also give us greater ability to secure our facilities in an effort to make things safer,” Peters added. “Also, the press box will be on the ground floor. It will be easier to access and it will be bigger, which is needed.”

These improvements will help other teams as well.

“As an athlete, I have been waiting for this my whole high school career,” said junior Maya Granot, who plays both lacrosse and soccer. “I think this renovation is needed.”

Granot also noted that renovated fields should reduce injuries.

“The new athletic renovations will improve the experience for lacrosse and soccer teams, and it will be better to play on new turf,” said  junior Cameron Umpleby, who also plays lacrosse and soccer. “The turf is going to be awesome and will [reduce] injuries.”

The stadium lights, turf, track and plaza represent only the first stage of this $10,569,651 project.

The Board is hoping to upgrade other outdoor athletic facilities in the future.

“It is my understanding that there is no specific timeline established for anything after the stadium renovation,” Peters said. “The administration is evaluating funding options for it as well as evaluating the process of how the project will be completed.”

One goal is to upgrade athletic fields with new paved paths, a lightning shelter and scoreboards where they are needed.

Another athletic department goal is to rehab both the infield and outfield of the baseball stadium with new fencing, a new backstop, as well as new irrigation and drainage systems.

The high school softball field will be getting a new stadium too, which includes brand new stands, a press box, dugouts, fencing and a backstop. Along with all of those updates, the field will also have an upgraded irrigation system and upgraded drainage.

“I think that it will be exciting for future teams because now we will have fans come to our games instead of just parents. I also hope there are no more bonfires on our field,” junior Lauren Miller, who plays softball for the softball team.

Because the practice fields have been overused in the past, the board plans to split up space in the outfield of the baseball field and the field behind the middle school to make new practice space. These new fields will create alternate places for competition with improved irrigation and drainage.

The infields of the baseball and softball practice fields and Fairmount fields are also slated to be rehabbed at some point, also with improved irrigation and drainage so that the occasionally brutal Ohio weather does not prevent the teams from competing.

“I’m excited because I know the football team uses the baseball outfield for practice and during the baseball season some of left field doesn’t even have grass on it so this should improve the quality of the field by a lot,” sophomore Ben Connor said. “I’m really excited about all of these renovations and it’s just nice to know that there are going to be improvements to our facilities.”

Of course, there are even more renovations planned. The Board also has plans for Hilltop Elementary School. If the elementary consolidation goes as planned, they also plan to upgrade the baseball and softball fields, while also flipping them so they face away from each other and adding paths and shelters. These fields are for youth leagues and recreational use.

To top it all off, the High School’s pool will be renovated. The pool was built in 1980, and it’s in need of  some major changes. On the exterior, a new roof system will be added, as well as new siding, brick tuckpointing and sealing. On the interior, the board plans to replace windows, clean and seal the roof deck, repaint and add a ticket and concessions booth.

The locker rooms in the pool will be updated as well. The deck will be replaced, along with a new floor, new lockers, toilets, sinks and showers. The locker room will also be made ADA accessible.

The pool renovation is estimated to cost a total of $1,644,900.

If the excitement of the student-athletes is any indication, the future of Bison athletics is very bright, for both those participating on the field and the spectators.