Community Education Sports

Turf upgrade coming to lower Gig Harbor High School field

Peninsula School District expects to start work in May on an upgrade to the lower Gig Harbor High School sports field.

Turf will replace the grass surface. The track, which is showing considerable wear, will be resurfaced. Field lights and an additional set of bleachers with ADA seating will be installed.

Much of the work will be done over the summer. The project will wrap up in October if permitting continues on schedule and there are no unexpected delays, according to Patrick Gillespie, director of facilities and capital projects. 

The upper field at Gig Harbor High School is a multi-sport turf facility. The football field is not regulation-size, however, so it is only suitable for practices. The upgrade at the lower GHHS field will give Peninsula School District two regulation-size turf football fields and will take pressure off Roy Anderson Field at Peninsula High School. Photo by Christina T. Henry

Contract awarded Tuesday

The school board on Tuesday awarded the contract to Premier Field Development.

The $3,139,330 (plus sales tax) contract includes a base price of $2,985,230 plus the option to add $154,100 for an LED scoreboard. The scoreboard would expand graphic opportunities, such as using different school logos.

Peninsula School District plans an upgrade to the lower field at Gig Harbor High School to include replacing grass with turf, adding lighting and ADA-accessible bleachers, and resurfacing the track. Photo by Christina T. Henry

Gillespie said the district intends to accept the scoreboard option pending the city of Gig Harbor approving permits.

The district is funding the project with revenue it earned by investing money from the 2019 bond. PSD invested bond revenue until it was needed for various phases of elementary and middle school construction.

A boon to district, community

The upgrade isn’t the new stadium many district families and other constituents want to relieve pressure on Roy Anderson Field at Peninsula High School. But another lighted turf field will be a boon not only to sports teams within the district, but also to community groups, said Wendy Malich, director of athletics and activities. 

“I am excited about the project. This will give our students another opportunity to use turf fields, just like many of our competitors,” Malich said in an email to Gig Harbor Now. “Our current field space cannot accommodate all our sport and activity groups. The demand from the community is higher than we can accommodate.” 

The track on the lower field at Gig Harbor High School will be resurfaced as part of an upgrade of the field that will start in May and wrap up in October. Photo by Christina T. Henry

Gillespie said the property is not large enough to accommodate a full stadium. The possibility of someday building a stadium elsewhere is part of a larger, ongoing conversation about the future of the district’s capital facilities.  

Adding to the inventory

The GHHS upgrade will add one more lighted turf field to the district’s limited inventory. Along with Roy Anderson, which has lights, Gig Harbor High’s “upper field” is a multi-sport, lighted turf field.

The upper field is available for lacrosse, soccer, fastpitch, baseball practice and football practice. The football “field” is an 80-yard play area within the larger turf facility. It is suitable only for practice, primarily by the GHHS varsity. 

Harbor Ridge Middle School also has a turf field, but that one is in near-constant use by middle school teams and community groups, Malich said. The district’s high schools use Sehmel Homestead Park’s field when it’s available to ease some of the pressure, she added.

Heavy use, high traffic

Teams currently practicing or playing on the GHHS lower field in the fall include football (mainly C and JV teams), girls soccer and cross country. In the winter, there’s flag football. In the spring it’s girls lacrosse, track and field, and boys soccer.

The constant traffic chews up the grass, which maintenance crews can’t fix until summer, Gillespie said.  

“When we have a lot of rain, the field can get a bit muddy, especially in October,” Malich said. “The lower grass field gets a lot of use from our community groups as well.”

Screenshot

The district has had to close the field temporarily when conditions get extremely muddy in the interest of players safety. The new turf field will eliminate closures except for the possibility of a heavy rain event, Gillespie said.

“This year we have been fortunate enough not to close it because we had a relatively mild fall,” Malich said. “The field does not get a lot of use, school or community, in the winter months because of darkness. Having turf and lights on that field will open it up for use in the winter months.” 

More play time for more teams

Lighting on the lower field will extend practice and game time for multiple teams, Malich said.

“Because we only have one true varsity competition field at Roy Anderson, the field at (Peninsula High School) hosts GHHS and PHS JV football, GHHS and PHS soccer games, girls lacrosse, and all varsity football games. Fitting all these competitions in at Roy Anderson reduces the ability of PHS sport teams to hold their practices.”

With a lighted, turf field at GHHS, the district will move some Gig Harbor competitions to their home school. Malich said district officials are considering moving all Gig Harbor football games (including C and JV teams) and possibly some Peninsula High games to the newly upgraded field. The GHHS soccer team is also considering moving their competitions to the new field, Malich said. 

The marching band also will benefit, she added. The band currently rehearses at Roy Anderson Field and Peninsula High’s upper baseball field. The district has had to rent lights for the band’s practice on the baseball field. Now, they’ll have another option. 

Community groups to benefit 

Peninsula School District leases its fields to around 18 organizations, according to Malich. That number is poised to grow. Harbor Soccer Club, Peninsula Youth Football and Cheer, Peninsula and Gig Harbor Lacrosse clubs, and Gig Harbor Little League are among the clubs seeking seasonal or year-round access. 

Field availability is one of the biggest challenges for Harbor Soccer Club, said Cameron Stone, its director of operations. The club relies heavily on school district fields, city parks and other public spaces. Availability is especially tight in the fall and spring, when demand is highest. Winter presents its own challenges, with shorter days and weather-related field closures. 

“Upgrading the lower field at Gig Harbor High School with turf and lighting would be a meaningful improvement for the community’s sports infrastructure,” Stone said. “With the growing number of youth sports entities in Gig Harbor, the task of acquiring consistent field times and locations for our training program is becoming a greater challenge.” 

Out of necessity, Harbor Soccer has become adaptable with its training schedules, Stone said. He expressed gratitude to parents and players for their flexibility and support amid these challenges.  

“The bigger issue is the lack of consistency month-to-month and sometimes week-to week as it pertains to training times and locations,” Stone said. “Any improvements that increase access to quality playing space would benefit not just our organization but the broader community that uses these facilities.”