Clock is ticking for Galt
In the March 31 edition of the News-Sentinel, a front page story ran about the Galt Joint Union High School District’s Board of Trustees voting to remove the aging home and visitor stands at Warrior Stadium on the Galt High campus.
The story also mentioned that the Galt and Liberty Ranch football programs could have played their home games at the Grape Bowl this fall. The school district’s superintendent, Elizabeth Kaufman, confirmed via e-mails that the district had conversations with the City of Lodi.
However, the odds of Galt and Liberty Ranch playing a down at the Grape Bowl — unless it was playing Lodi and/or Tokay in a non-league game — was not going to happen.
According to Jeff Hood, City of Lodi’s director parks and recreation and cultural services, the city tried its best to explore “solutions” for Galt and Liberty Ranch. But with the exception of Week 0, when Tokay opens its season at Heritage of Brentwood on Aug. 25, Lodi and Tokay varsity and frosh-soph football teams are playing home games at the Grape Bowl every Friday from Sept. 1 through Nov. 3, concluding when Lodi and Tokay meet in their cross-town and TriCity Athletic League regular season finale. Add that Tokay and Lodi freshman football teams play home games on Thursdays, and the Lodi Jr. Flames, Lodi Colts and the Lodi Titans youth football programs play home games at the bowl on Saturdays, things are pretty full.
“Lodi Unified has submitted Grape Bowl requests every Thursday and Friday,” Hood said. “We have several Saturdays already reserved for youth football.”
Thanks to the passing of Measure E, a $36 million bond approved by Galt voters last November, the moneys are expected to help both schools in the classrooms and athletically.
The costs to tear down the bleachers and announcer’s booth at Warrior Stadium is approximately $62,000. That includes set-up and tear down of the stands, building an ADA ramp and installment of asphalt walkways. All of this is to be done in time for Galt High to hold its graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2017 in early
June. The stands would remain in place for the upcoming prep football season for Galt and Liberty Ranch in the fall.
In August, Liberty Ranch is expected to start work on its football field. This would include installing field turf and an allweather track and field. The project is scheduled to be completed by March 2018.
The timeline to finish revamping Warrior Stadium, which would include permanent bleachers, announcer’s booth, field turf and an all-weather track, is 2023.
“A stadium at Galt High could be developed earlier in the planning,” Kaufman said via e-mail. “At the moment, the priority for the second phase of funding is to build a two-story building that would house 21st century classrooms, most likely for science and engineering.”
Education comes first — there is no question about it. But Warrior Stadium has been needing an upgrade going back to the early 2000s.
Today, Supt. Kaufman and the trustees will hold their regular monthly meeting, the items are part of the action items expected to be voted. The matters could also be tabled for another meeting, but it’s already mid-April. The clock is ticking.
Let’s split this down the middle. Install stadium seating and stadium lights on the home and visitor’s sides of Liberty Ranch’s football stadium. But no all-weather track. Golden Sierra High of Garden Valley, in El Dorado County, has field turf, but does not have an all-weather track. Liberty Ranch can go without the all-weather track until 2020 or after.
Build an all-weather track and field at Warrior Stadium. Ripon High, which will hosts Galt in a non-league game in Week 1, has an all-weather track and field but has natural grass at its stadium. The same can be done at Warrior Stadium.
As for 2023 being the target date for completion of Warrior Stadium, how about moving it to 2019, no later than 2020? The board of trustees must push one and/or both years onto Kaufman and the district.
Time to make Galt and Liberty Ranch happy at the same time.