BY DAN STICKRADT
CORRESPONDENT
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
LANSING — Jim Ahern will finally have a chance to march his troops out on a Friday night on Lansing Catholic’s own turf — literally.
Ahern, the school’s football coach, will guide his troops against Lansing Waverly on Aug. 26, as part of the season opener festivities, which will be held in the school’s new 2.7-million dollar athletics complex.
Lansing Catholic has never held a night football game, or track meet, or an evening lacrosse game, either. A couple of day football and soccer games on grass fields behind the school has been the extent of it.
“This is something that is truly a long-time coming,” said Ahern. “We’ve always had to pack up and drive to our home games. We’ve played at various places around the Lansing area. I think everyone is really looking forward to it.”
Lansing Catholic has spent the last several years playing home games at Holt Middle School. In the past, the school had rented facilities at Lansing Sexton and other schools.
Now, the school will finally have a stadium to call its own. Lansing Catholic’s facilities include a synthetic turf playing surface, eight-lane track, light poles, seating for 2,100, a new press box, sound and public address system, and concession stand as part of phase one of the project.
Major renovations to the baseball, softball and natural grass soccer fields on campus will be a part of the second phase. The school is currently raising money for the project, which thus far has all been made from private donors.
“We’ve had over 110 years of catholic high school history in the Lansing area, and with the merger of catholic schools into Lansing Catholic in 1970, and had nearly (five decades) of teams at Lansing Catholic. But never a Friday night home football game on our campus like most of the schools in the area,” said Lansing Catholic president Tom Maloney. “We have a lot o alumni going back to the 1960s and 1970s who have been apart of this, and we’ll be at the game.
“We truly believe this will put us at the top of the list in terms of stadiums in the Lansing area,” continued Maloney. “As much success that we’ve had as a school in football and track and field, it’s amazing we’ve done so without our own facilities. Our track teams has had to practice hurdles and relay handoffs in the parking lot. All we had was a dirt track around the practice football field.”
The turf field is only the second in the entire Lansing area, following Class B Olivet having it installed a few years ago. The major stadium upgrades gives Lansing Catholic some of the finest facilities in the whole Lansing area.
Lansing Catholic’s new complex is one of many that have been erected in Michigan over the past couple of years.
“We’re coming home,” noted Maloney. “That’s one of the phrases we’re using around the new stadium. We’re finally coming home. There has been a true sense of community in this project. Everyone is really excited.”
LAPEER DAYS
Entering its third school year since the merger of Lapeer East and Lapeer West high schools, the new Lapeer High is in the final stages of its major stadium renovation project.
Coming all from fundraisers and donors, the multi-million dollar project, which is located at the Lapeer West site, features a new gray turf field, new grandstands, press box, locker rooms, public address system, restrooms, and a new eight-lane track.
The stadiums at both Lapeer East and Lapeer West were both natural grass stadiums.
The football, track, cross country and lacrosse teams will use the stadium, plus youth leagues can rent the facility. Lapeer’s soccer teams will continue to play games on the natural grass soccer-only stadium next to the Lapeer East building, which is being used as the Lapeer High.
Lapeer’s football teams held intra-squad scrimmages on the new playing surface Aug. 13. The first home varsity football game will take place Sept. 16 against Flint Southwestern Academy.
Lapeer is the fifth school in the Saginaw Valley Conference to have turf installed in their stadiums.
“There has been tremendous community support for all of this — and it has all been handled with private donors. No public funds have been used,” noted Lapeer athletics director Shad Spilski. “There are a lot of community groups in Lapeer that have stepped up over the past couple years to make this all a reality. There were five really big donors that really helped out. There’s
“Their is a lot of buzz round the stadium,” continued Spilski. “I think the players were really excited about their scrimmages out there. They can’t wait to play a real game on the turf.”
TURF SHOWCASED
According to the MHSAA, there are over 100 high schools in the state that now have turf fields with the addition of Lansing Catholic, Grand Rapids West Catholic and Lapeer this year. Most of those turf stadiums are located in Oakland, Wayne, Macomb and Kent counties, with the first being located at Birmingham Detroit Country Day back in 1999.
In the tri-cities area and central Michigan region, Clare, Midland, Mildand Dow and Mount Pleasant have all constructed new stadiums with turf fields in recent years. Mount Pleasant shares its facility with Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart.
In Oakland County alone, there are 43 stadiums with turf fields, including two at high schools that have closed (Bloomfield Hills Lahser and Southfield Lathrup).