Turf Installation for Wheeling Park High School Baseball Field on Deck
Joselyn King WHEELING - Wheeling Park High School's baseball field is expected to have artificial turf in place in time for the start of the season this spring.
Ohio County Schools Assistant Superintendent Rick Jones said he met with representatives from Astroturf last week, who told him work construction might take place until the team begins its practices.
Baseball practice begins for West Virginia high schoolers in late February, with competition starting in mid-March.
"Last week, they told us things (construction) will be right up to the start of practice," Jones said. "It should be done by the first game. We might have to practice somewhere else."
Jones said it’s not known yet where the team might prepare for the season if the field isn't ready.
Baseball coach Steve Myers and Athletic Director Chris Daugherty "are working on that," he continued. Jones said completion of the project "just depends on the weather." Work is expected to take three to four weeks.
Preparation work is taking place during milder weather, and some dirt already has been moved, he said.
"If it's too muddy they can't work, or if it gets too cold and the ground is hard," Jones explained. "They'll be working when they can."
As the deadline for the project and time for the first pitch approaches, crews may start working weekends and overtime to get the job done, according to Jones.
The Ohio County Board of Education approved the $1.5 million contract with Astroturf to place the turf last August. The money is to come from the school district's general budget, and is not part of the $42.2 million in bond work approved by voters in 2018.
Jones suggested the turf project to the board of education as the new WPHS multi-purpose athletic field was being constructed. It has a similar type of astroturf to that now proposed for the baseball field.
There had been concerns expressed about unevenness in the outfield of the current field, which is natural grass.
In addition, rainy spring conditions often result in games being canceled throughout the baseball season. Meanwhile, the girls playing softball on the new athletic field with turf likely still will get to play following morning rains that drain off the turf by mid-day.