 NEW STADIUM: The newly built Jim Scott Stadium will be home to the Estancia and Costa Mesa football teams. The field bears the logos of both teams and is striped for both football and soccer. JEBB HARRIS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER FROM THE OCVARSITY.COM BLOG |
O.C. teams tackle stadium projects
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The movement toward FieldTurf grows, while others build new facilities or overhaul existing ones.
From the stands, the green FieldTurf glistens in the sun, as if sprinkled with white glitter. From the 20-yard line, the color appears more as a green-black, the combination of faux grass and the shredded tire that cushions the field.
Mike Bargas presses his feet into the turf at Estancia High. It gives a little bit. It's softer than natural grass.
"That's actually why I left Newport Harbor," the second-year Estancia coach said, gazing toward the shiny silver bleachers of the new Jim Scott Stadium. "That was kind of the carrot that was dangled in my face: 'You're going to be the first coach to create some history.' Whether it's good or bad, (we're) going to be the first one to open up the stadium."
The movement, away from grass and toward FieldTurf, has been building locally for several years. FieldTurf is prevalent in south Orange County, and its trickle north seems to grow steadier and steadier.
Santa Ana Stadium had synthetic turf installed in the summer of 2007. Next season, Newport Harbor will likely be the only Sunset League team playing and practicing on grass.
"The biggest thing that we've liked about it, is it's improved the safety factor for our kids," said Orange Lutheran coach Jim Kunau, whose program was one of the first in Orange County to install FieldTurf. "And we've had no maintenance issues, which is nice."
The surface is resilient. It does not require fertilizer or water. There is no need to re-lay sod. And it drains so well that teams can play in a downpour without causing harm.
Moreover, without ditches or holes, FieldTurf limits the risk of fluke injuries. Estancia grew too familiar with those.
"Back on the old (practice) field, everybody would roll their ankle, hyper-extend their knee, get deep abrasions," senior wide receiver Jason Moreno said. "Out here, if accidents do happen, it's probably because someone got hit by a helmet, or an actual injury."
Huntington Beach and Westminster are seeing their stadiums, which they share with other schools, torn down. They won't have a home this season, but they'll return next year to state-of-the-art, by high school standards, facilities.
At Bradford Stadium, shared by Valenica and El Dorado, the stands will remain intact, but the sod has been replaced with field turf.
No more "Dust Bowls" or "Mud Bowls," said El Dorado coach Jeff Bailey, whose team has benefited from a visiting kicker slipping and falling on a game-tying field-goal attempt in the postseason.
"Due to budget costs, there's always some reason they don't take care of the field," Bailey said. "It's just reality. I don't think it's anybody's fault."
In the winter, soccer teams inherit a torn-up field and mash it even more. Then, in the spring, lacrosse takes over.
Such activity leaves field turf unscathed. Just in case, its construction comes with a 10-year warranty.
But Estancia's new stadium, which it will share with Costa Mesa, is rooted as much in pride as practicality. Its presence has provided a downtrodden program with hope for a renaissance.
"There's still that honeymoon period there," said Bargas, a Newport Harbor alum and 15-year assistant coach. "The first couple of days, they're touching the turf and laying on it. It's kind of like Christmastime.
"Now, they've got something to call theirs."
Estancia and Costa Mesa had shared Newport Harbor's stadium with the Sailors and Corona del Mar. That field could use an artificial surface, but Newport Mesa Unified School District opted for the new stadium first.
The explanation, at least in part, reaches back 10 years. That's when Jim Scott, a longtime Mesa Verde resident, founded the Costa Mesa United organization, launching a campaign to bring a stadium to Estancia and an aquatics complex to Costa Mesa High.
"It may sound silly, but having your own football stadium brings a lot of pride and community spirit," said Costa Mesa United board member Katrina Foley, a lawyer with two young sons.
Scott's group began fundraising, but its efforts did not keep up with rising construction costs. As a result, the organization switched its sights to a 2005 school bond, a $283 million capital-improvements initiative, which eventually included $9.3 million for the new stadium. An aquatics facility is on the way to Costa Mesa.
Bargas said his football team's numbers are rising, and players said they finally have begun to believe in the program's future.
The coach hopes that sparkling Jim Scott Stadium might keep local athletes from traveling to nearby Edison and Calvary Chapel, or to a prominent private school out of the area.
"When you have nicer facilities, then you're going to get people," Bargas said. "Otherwise, what's the reason behind being here? It's been a mediocre football program the last decade or so.
"Now, with this stadium, people may want to stay here, instead of leaving."
Contact the writer: jkay@ocregister.com
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