The first cement for FHS Spartan Stadium was poured in January 1964, the first football game played in the new stadium was Sept. 25, 1964, against Bainbridge. A lot of games and countless other activities have taken place since that first game in 1964 and the poor old stadium’s days are numbered.
At a recent West End Business meeting, QVSD Superintendent Diana Reaume updated the group on the steps and questions to be answered as to the future of a new stadium.
1. Form a committee to envision the new stadium. Should it stay where it is or be repositioned?
2. Should the new stadium have an artificial turf? The school board has had a presentation from one company already. The company said that in the West End’s UV deprived area the artificial turf would do well and possibly last 15-20 years.
3. Funding: The board does not want to tap any new tax dollars, $1.5 million has been set aside and there are plans to contact local corporations for possible funding for a new stadium. Other ideas could include partnering with the City of Forks and the Olympic Natural Resources Center to build a larger complex.
The plan is to form a 20-member committee and figure out funding before Christmas and start the project the following year. There also may be a possibility for local support of the project through donation of prep work. Architectural cost could be reduced by using a company that does modular stadiums.
With winning youth league football teams the past few years, the future of football looks bright, but the integrity of the current stadium is in question and something will need to be done soon.
