Work crews have been busy at the Enumclaw Expo Center, tearing up the artificial turf that has greeted Hornet athletes – and others – for the past 13 years.
In its place, a new-and-improved artificial surface will soon be installed.
Phil Engebretsen, whose administrative duties include serving as the Enumclaw School District’s athletic director, said the process should be complete during the next couple of months. A new field should be ready when spring athletes begin turning out.
While the turf that debuted in the fall of 2011 has served the community well, Engebretsen said, the new product will be even better – both visually and from a safety standpoint.
Anyone using the Expo Center field or sitting in the grandstands will notice the end zone graphics, a new touch. There will be a permanent “Enumclaw” on one end, “Hornets” on the other end and a large “E” at midfield.
More important are the steps taken to protect the athletes on the field. With the previous turf removed, crews will put down a pad similar to the cushion found under household carpeting. That’s a $100,000 feature that was lacking for the past 13 years.
“It really does increase the safety of the field,” Engebretsen said of the pad.
Lacking a pad, he said, the district has paid annually to have the Expo Center field tested for “shock absorption.”
The Expo Center field took a major leap into modern times in during the months leading up to the fall of 2011. Until that time, the field was natural sod and presented challenges stemming from the Plateau’s rainy climate. Engebretsen clearly recalls the season when the Hornets played their final football games at Cardinal Stadium in Orting; the Expo field was completely chewed up, he said, rendering it unplayable.
“It was just a muddy mess,” the district AD summarized.
The effort to transform the stadium – affectionately called Pete’s Pool, a nod the site’s rich history – became a communitywide effort. Donations went a long way toward bringing a modern field to Enumclaw, both cash contributions and in-kind donations from contractors.
The grassroots effort was guided by the YEAS committee, the acronym for Your Enumclaw Area Stadium.
Since that time, the Expo Center stadium has hosted Enumclaw High football, boys’ and girls’ soccer and lacrosse, at both the varsity and subvarsity levels. It’s also home to the Junior Hornets youth football program, youth soccer, club lacrosse and more.
The stadium is part of the larger Expo Center grounds, which means it is owned by the nonprofit organization that assumed control from the city. As part of a joint-use agreement reached years ago, the school district provides maintenance and upkeep of the field and grandstands.
Artificial surfaces have a traditional lifespan of about a dozen years. As part of the contract hammered out years ago, the school district agreed to set aside money every year to fund the eventual replacement.
Engebretsen said the math has worked and the district is fully funding the new turf, which will likely carry a final price tag in the $700,000 neighborhood.
