Athletic upgrades underway
By CHUCK RIDENOUR Daily Globe Sports Editor
“We’re hammering away,” said Shelby City School building and grounds supervisor Scott Harvey when describing the beehive of activity relating to athletic facilities in the district that are being upgraded.
Work is being done at a number of sites adjacent to the high school to which Harvey said “a lot is going on.”
Vasco Sports out of Massillon is currently working on the tennis courts and the baseball diamond.
After the spring boys tennis campaign was completed, the old asphalt base of the tennis courts was peeled up last week and site preparation is now underway to put down a new playing surface in time for the start of the girls tennis season in the fall.
Vasco is always working in the new baseball diamond which will be located west of the FFA barn.
The new baseball facility will feature a turf infield.
Harvey indicated once the baseball season is completed for the Whippets that the dugouts and press box will be demolished and the fence surrounding the field will come down.
The old baseball field then will become the home for the shot put and discus rings for track and field and will also be the practice field for the football program.
Activity is also beginning to pick up around the current track where plenty of work remains to be accomplished.
Right now a new locker room is going up in the southwest corner. It will also house bathrooms and electrical components for the stadium.
The new bleachers on the home and visitor sides have been erected. The new scoreboard is in place and a new storage building in the northwest corner is also going up.
Soon the grass inside of the track will be come up and then tile work, grading and then culminate with the laying of turf for the football field will be done. Also, a new track surface will be installed as well as new areas for long jump and pole vault.
The goal, according to
Harvey, is to be playing in the new stadium during the third week of the 2022 football season.
SHS is scheduled to host Bellevue in a non-conference game as the one-time rivals from the now-defunct Northern Ohio resume their series that first started in the 1940s.
Shelby will play one last game at W.W. Skiles Field at William J. Wilkins Stadium against Mansfield Madison in the first week of the season.
Harvey indicated the annual inspection of the current stadium has been completed and the south section of the home stands will be closed off for the opener.
Both the south and north seating areas have been made off limits due to structural issues caused by the freezing and thawing of winters over the years.
Harvey noted that is roughly a loss of 450 seats in each section.
“The deterioration at the north and south ends is because those areas are exposed to the weather the most,” said Harvey.