New turf for Hornets, Panthers

Athletes of all ages, shapes and sizes will soon enjoy new playing surfaces at both Bonney Lake and White River high schools.

Athletes of all ages, shapes and sizes will soon enjoy new playing surfaces at both Bonney Lake and White River high schools.

Work crews were at both schools last week. At White River, workers began tearing up the Sprinturf that served Hornet athletes for more than a decade. Soon, a new AstroTurf field will be installed.

At Bonney Lake High, the turf had been well worn during the seasons since the school’s opening in the fall of 2005. At White River, the surface torn up last week was installed for the fall 2003 opening of the new school. Through the years both fields has received applications of the rubber crumbles designed to keep athletes safe.

But artificial surfaces suffer from the normal pounding they take and both the White River and Bonney Lake fields were showing their age.

The facilities get plenty of use, sometimes seeing action five days a week during the school year. For example, fields are used for the school’s physical education classes and for club soccer programs for all ages.

At White River, the price tag for a new AstroTurf surface was slightly more than $528,000, according to Assistant Superintendent Mike Hagadone.

The new surfaces will be ready in advance of the fall sports season. High school football players throughout the state will begin turning out Aug. 19; athletes in other fall sports can turn out Aug. 24.