Jackson HS installs brand new playing surface at Robert Fife Stadium
MASSILLON, Ohio — If you’ve been thinking of replacing that living room carpet of yours, or maybe the carpeting in the bedroom, you’d have a hard time finding a surface that looks as inviting as the one laid at Robert Fife Stadium. Original grass football fields have gone the way of dinosaurs and landline telephones. In June, a second turf was laid at the stadium by VASCO, replacing the first that had been in place there for ten years.
The lion’s share of the $527,000 cost was paid by the school district, but like anything, Jackson schools could also rely on their teammates to help make the project a reality. “This was a unique partnership between Jackson schools, the football program, booster club, lacrosse, and band,” said Chad Bailey, president of the Jackson Football Association and the township’s Youth Basketball Association grades K through 12. “We are using one of the highest turf grades, we have new goal posts, and a Polar Bear head is at midfield. Each group will contribute, and the turf will be used for band shows, youth football games, soccer, lacrosse, and it puts us in line to host high school football playoff games.”
The surface is sturdy, and Bailey said there will rarely be a day out of the week that the new turf isn’t being used by some group, team, or organization. “If you’re a parent of second-grade flag football for your son or daughter, or for fourth-grade tackle football, and you’re playing on a field like that with a PA announcer…that really makes an impression,” Bailey added. “This affects a ton of families who can make use of the turf. But the key is having good relationships between everyone involved.”
Facilities are of utmost importance in attracting student-athletes today in any district. Bailey, a 1992 Jackson graduate has lived in the township since 1988 and remembers when things didn’t look like they do now. “I played football at the old Fife Stadium when it had grass,” he recalled. “With a good rain, there was a lot of mud. This is the same surface you will find today at Ohio State, and it will last a minimum of ten years. There will rarely be a time when it’s not being used.”
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