Playing at home: Pitman High students, coaches ask Turlock board for sports upgrades
After students, parents and staff called on the Turlock Unified board to finish Pitman High School’s football stadium, on Wednesday an official said the district plans to share information about adding lighting.
The group at the board meeting Tuesday cited safety issues, such as finishing track meets with cell phone lights, and frustration over traveling to Turlock High School for home games.
In the past three and a half years, Assistant Superintendent Barney Gordon said, the district has spent more than $6 million on Pitman athletic facilities.
“Conceptual plans were created when the new synthetic track and field was installed in 2019 as a full stadium at Pitman High School has long been a desire of the site and a long-term vision of the district,” Gordon said in an email Wednesday. “Efforts have been in the works since the fall to add lighting to the facility and administration looks forward to sharing additional information at our upcoming May 3rd board meeting.”
The district in April 2019 estimated stadium lighting and a scoreboard would cost $555,000, Gordon said. The preliminary estimate did not include costs such as engineering and inspection fees, however.
Jennifer Andrade, a Pitman teacher and former softball coach, in public comments Tuesday requested the board discuss funding to build stands and add lighting. Besides the football teams, soccer, band, color guard and cheer programs would also benefit from a completed stadium, Andrade said in an interview.
A stadium for home games would also prevent some students from needing to walk back home to the Pitman High area after cheering for their team at Turlock High, Andrade said. The schools are about five miles apart.
“It’s terrible to play on your rival’s field for a home game,” sophomore Lucas Arrizon said. “I mean, even at homecoming you’re on your rival’s field. Sometimes you’re gonna get hate for being on their home turf.”
Turlock High also deserves its own stadium without having to share it with Pitman, said Eric Reza, Pitman’s head football coach. Once Pitman’s stadium is completed, Reza said the neighborhood around Turlock High will only need to deal with 10 instead of 20 games a year causing noise and traffic.
Without lights on the football turf, Arrizon said, the football team has to cut practices short when it gets dark, too. The lighting issues especially affect the soccer and track teams, Reza said, and it can get dangerous.
For COVID-19 safety, Lucas Arrizon’s mother Allison Arrizon said a finished stadium with seating would give an outdoor option for other events, too.
“It would be wonderful to gather the student body in a safe space outside for events, such as graduations,” Arrizon said. “And have equal access for anybody who may be in a wheelchair, (so) they can have the ability to see effectively.”
Parents currently stand at the fence around the track to watch their students, Andrade said. It can be difficult for people in wheelchairs to see, she said. Pitman Pride Boosters, which organized the call for showing at Tuesday’s board meeting, is looking for equity, Andrade added.
The next Turlock school board meeting is scheduled for May 3 at 6 p.m.
This story was originally published April 7, 2022 at 10:19 AM.
