WQOW TV: Eau Claire, WI NEWS18 News, Weather, and SportsLocal high school kicks off football and soccer seasons with new field
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Rice Lake (WQOW) - A local high school kicks off the football and soccer seasons on a brand new field.
This week, Rice Lake completed a portion of its $3.75 million sports complex, with much of the money coming from community donations.
Spreading wet cement, fastening screws and saws at work are all sounds that filled the air at Rice Lake High School on Wednesday, as workers plugged away on a massive project that was originally planned to only replace the school's track.
"Our track was heaving, cracking and falling apart, so we started looking at a new track. Then, we realized the track would have to be moved to a different site. The next thing you know, people were saying 'fix the track, fix the football field as well, and let's bring soccer on site.' Originally, we were talking about $2.5 million and the board was going to split that with the community," says Steve Salisbury, athletic director and assistant principal.
But after a thorough review of all the school's sports facilities, the community stepped forward and said more needed to be done.
"In June 2008, there were five citizens that came forward and said we think we can raise $1.2 million. In November, they came back and said that they had not raised $1.2 million, but they had raised $1.8 million," says Dr. Paul Vine, superintendent. "With that commitment from our citizens, businesses and alumni in the community, the school board committed to move the project forward."
Fast forward one year to now, and you'll see a large grandstand that will hold thousands of spectators, a state-of-the-art football field, brand new scoreboards and a large concession stand. With just a few odds and ends left to finish, the school says it's ready for football and soccer games, as workers focus their attention on softball and baseball fields, which are scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2011.
"This is a great spring board for some of the other things we need to address in our school district. We need to look forward at our science labs and get those done. There's lots of things we need to do, but this is a great example of how the community can come together, and whatever we need to do next, we'll go with it," says Salisbury.
The school played its first soccer game on the field Thursday and will host its first football game next Friday, September 4.
