HAGERSTOWN – South Hagerstown’s School Stadium will be following the same schedule of Rebel athletes who use it.
Both are about to have the summer off.
The venerable sports facility was closed on Tuesday after the completion of spring sports season to start the refurbishing and repairs to the track and the natural grass playing field.
The facility will be opened on May 22 and May 27 for a pair of graduation ceremonies. Seating arrangements will be altered.
Since South’s track is considered a Maryland Project Open Space facility, the public is being notified of the closure. The track will be unavailable for public use for the summer.
This allows the Washington County Public Schools facilities department the opportunity to perform a major overhaul of the playing surface which is used for football, soccer and lacrosse.
“The field is rapidly deteriorating over the years,” said South Hagerstown Athletic Director Dwayne Freeman. “This is mostly a safety issue.”
Maryland Project Open Space – Local was created to finance and technically assist the development of open space recreational areas. Since being established in 1969, the project targets the preservation of natural resources while providing outdoor recreational opportunities.
The high use, along with the field’s structure, has taken its toll on the facility.
The playing field is basically a flat piece of ground. There is no crown on it to allow for rainwater to drain after storms.
The rainwater puddles on the field, causing more wear and tear when games are played in wet conditions. Footprints and depressions cause for the surface to be uneven.
“There have been a lot of complaints from other schools and the officials,” Freeman said. “Most of them come from schools who have artificial turf. They have already put down a lot of dirt to fill the holes, which is much needed.”
The playing field will undergo a number of improvements, including hydroseeding and top dressing.
Hydroseeding is a process which includes a combination of mulch and seed to help control erosion, according to a South Hagerstown athletic department press release.
The top dressing is “a mixture of compost and soil to improve the health of the turf” to promote drainage of water, a leveling of the surface and improve the overall appearance.
With the closing, there will be revisions in some previously planned events at the stadium.
South was also set to host a Class 3A West Region I semifinal game against North Hagerstown, for example. The game has been moved and will be played at Smithsburg at 6 p.m.
School Stadium ranks as one of the oldest athletic facilities in Washington County. It opened 1956 with the 8,000-seat facility built for the football and track teams for Hagerstown High.
But in 1957, the school was split. South Hagerstown remained nestled between South Potomac and Maryland Avenues, while North Hagerstown opened on Pennsylvania Avenue. But North didn’t have outdoor athletic facilities.
Suddenly the use of School Stadium’s field doubled. For 50 years (1957-2006), South and North shared the facility until Callas Stadium, complete with artificial turf, was built behind North High.
In that time, more demands were placed on School Stadium. Soccer and lacrosse began and then there were junior varsity sports, too. Then came the advent of girls sports, creating more use of the playing surface.
Even with North moving to its own facility for the last 20 seasons, there has been much wear to the old stadium, despite efforts to keep it safe and functional.
