Habersham Central’s facelift is nearing completion. The renovations to Raider Stadium and John Larry Black Field by Hellas Construction can be seen by peering into the stadium as you drive by. And it’s looking great.
The upgrade to a turf field will bring Habersham Central up to par with many other local programs that have made the upgrade. Lumpkin, Union and Dawson County are others in the northeast Georgia area that have made the change from natural grass to turf. Lumpkin and Union have had theirs for awhile, but Dawson introduced its new field just this past football season.
Habersham Central’s turf field will be of the highest quality.
“The type of field we have is going to be the same turf that’s used at Baylor University,” says Athletic Director Geep Cunningham. “There will also be an [E-Layer Pad] underneath the turf, which will reduce the possibilities of injuries and concussions. We’re going to get as high quality field as there is.”
Habersham is also renovating the track to move from six to eight lanes wide, meeting necessary criteria for track and field competitions. The stadium updates also includes a new scoreboard, completely new lighting, improvements to the wireless communications and a drainage system to go with the new turf.
“There will be other things inside the stadium that will be completely different,” adds Cunningham. “There will be a sidewalk going all the way around the bottom. There will be very little, if any, grass growing in the stadium. It’s going to be really neat.”
The scoreboard, according to Cunningham, will have a video display module.
Upgrades also include some renovations to the Lady Raiders’ softball complex, which includes a multi-purpose building for locker rooms and indoor batting cages. This will allow the Lady Raiders to have practices even when the weather would not normally allow them to practice outside.
The project began in late November after the Habersham County Board of Education had voted for Hellas Construction, Inc., of Austin, Texas, to renovate the football field and track in a project that was not to exceed $2.5 million.
The Habersham soccer program has had to play its home games on Piedmont College’s turf field. Raiders coach Ric Wallace is anxious to get back to playing on John Larry Black Field, however.
“[It’s] been tough to be on the road all year,” says Wallace. “We treat these games like away games in terms of our preparation and eagerly await the opportunity to be back in Raider Stadium. We are grateful that Piedmont College has worked with us and allowed us to play in their fantastic facility.”
As to when the Raiders will get the chance to christen the stadium and field, Wallace indicates it may be getting pretty close. “We are hopeful that we will be able to play our final three home games of the season in the newly renovated Raider Stadium; the first coming against Chattahoochee on April 15.”
“I’m tremendously excited about [the renovations],” adds Cunningham. “I think it’s a great thing for the community; they’ll be able to come walk on the track and the community will be able to use it. [The stadium] will be a showpiece for our school system, so I think we ought to all be pretty jacked up about it.”
(click photos to enlarge)
