By Steve Wilaj

sports@vindy.com

BOARDMAN

Boardman High School athletic director Dave Smercansky describes the condition of the school’s football stadium as “old” and “unsafe.”

“It just doesn’t serve its needs anymore,” Smercansky said.

The Boardman Booster Club agrees and has taken the reigns of a new stadium project. Booster president Bill Bonte said the privately funded project will cost approximately $4 million.

“They’re working directly with the school district and the superintendent’s office,” Smercansky said of the boosters. “They’re trying all kinds of avenues to generate the funds for this project.”

So far, the boosters have raised approximately $250,000, according to Bonte. Along with a $100,000 pledge from the boosters, the project has received $50,000 from an anonymous source and $25,000 from the Little Spartans organization, with the rest of the money generated through various checks ranging from $1,000 to $15,000.

In an effort to draw funds from a wide range of sources, BHS alums Dave Dravecky, a former major league baseball player, and Carlee Tressel, daughter of Jim Tressel, have been named the honorary co-chairs for the project.

“They’re not in the day-to-day operations,” Bonte said. “But they’re very influential people that know people, and getting the word out is half the battle.”

The current battle for the Boardman school district is keeping its stadium in respectable condition. For instance, the bleachers have issues with the step handrails, as well as the handicap seating, which doesn’t even exist on the visitors’ side.

“The home and away bleachers are barely making the inspections on the yearly basis,” Smercansky said.

Bonte described the bleachers as “antiquated.”

“They are taking money out of the school system because the old concrete had to be reinforced,” he said. “They probably wouldn’t pass a safety inspection today.”

The playing field, meanwhile, is a struggle to maintain throughout the football season. Between two middle school teams, a freshman team, and the junior varsity and varsity teams sharing the field, the surface is usually in poor condition by midseason.

“That thing is all torn up,” Smercansky said. “It becomes a safety issue for the players. It’s a mess and we can’t host any tournament games.”

For this reason, project officials are hoping to install artificial turf, which Bonte said will cost $800,000. Along with a better playing surface for the football teams, the turf can also host multiple sports.

“We’re the only team in all of the Federal League that has a grass field,” Bonte said. “Right now, we’re practicing on grass, whereas the other teams are practicing and playing on turf.

“We want something that is going to be an asset to the entire school system. Soccer can use it, baseball can use it, and the PE department can use it.”

Another benefit to the BHS athletes will be the location. While the Market Street stadium is approximately one mile from the high school, the plan is for the new stadium to be built on the current soccer field, which sits behind the high school.

“We have to bus everybody over to the stadium,” Bonte said. “It’s really in the wrong location. It needs to be on the high school property.”

As for a timetable for the project, Bonte could not give a certain date.

“We’d love to put the artificial turf in starting next spring so they can utilize it next summer and next fall,” he said. “ But it’s really based on funding. If we can get pledges in and money in, that is really our timetable.”