Stadium welcomes new turf

The Lock Haven Athletics Department recently upgraded Jack stadium, the woman's field hockey and men's lacrosse fields this summer by installing a new artificial turf system costing approximately 3 million dollars.

The football stadium was surfaced with a carpet like astro turf in 1995 and since then has become the victim of countless football games, intramural sports and the biggest offender, Mother Nature.

"Jack Stadium and the lacrosse field were long overdue for resurfacing", said LHU athletics director Sharon Taylor. "We felt that we were falling behind the PSAC facility standard and knew we had to do something more permanent", she added.

Installed in the stadium now however is a synthetic turf system that has a purpose to simulate grass. This not only helps prevent injuries, it provides the athletes with, what seems like, a better feel for the game.

Junior soccer forward, Terrence Gochera says "The field we use to play on was very rough and dry. The new field is a great improvement. It helps you keep your balance and helps the ball stay on the ground."

As for McCollum Field, which is the current home to woman's field hockey and was the previous home to Lock Haven soccer, occurred the most drastic improvement due to the previous safety issues and the limited time LHU students were allowed to use the field.

"The field became worse after every use and we felt that it was unsafe for athletes to play on any longer", Taylor said.

However, the most important initiative according to Taylor is that this is a project that benefits everyone on campus, not just the athletes.

"The field improvement is very important to me because we extended the field beyond the regulation size to open up all kinds of room for anyone on campus to share", she said.

Sophomore student Jack Delfino said, "This is going to be a great thing on campus for us students. We have been confined to play pick up football games on rough uneven surfaces". "Now we can get together and play on a bigger and safer field where more students can participate", he added.

All students are now allowed to use the lower field for recreational use at anytime except during PSAC sporting events including practices, games or scrimmages. The Lock Haven Athletics Department asks that you wear proper sneakers or turf shoes meaning no spikes or cleats and to keep all kinds of sports drinks or sodas off the new field.

Eagle Eye story