Football facelift
Purcell’s historic football stadium would be renovated if a bond issue passes in October.
PURCELL — For nearly eight decades Purcell’s Conger Field has provided a unique feel to fall Friday nights.
Stands only line the west side of the field, putting home and visiting fans side-by-side. The fieldhouse is on the other end.
Then there’s Red Hill to the west, where fans can sit and watch the game from above.
Most of that could change in the future.
Purcell’s school board has called a special election for Oct. 10 regarding two school bonds, which includes needed renovations for Conger Field.
The stands will be broken up like other stadiums. A new fieldhouse is included. A new press box, concession stand and restrooms will be built.
“It’s unique and all, but when you’re having to water, seed, weed eat, mow your stands … I mean, it’s unique but it’s time,” Purcell football coach John Higbee said. “It’s time to change it.”
Conger Field hosted its first official game in 1938.
Since then, the community has flocked to the top of Red Hill, which overlooks the stadium from the west, and into the concrete stands.
But at the same time, the facilities have fallen behind others in the state.
Higbee described a mold situation in one fieldhouse that has forced the team to store cloth materials in part of the weight room. Plumbing issues plague the facilities, too.
“There’s no renovating that,” Higbee said. “It’s time to take it down.”
Higbee also said parking for games is mess. Fans park on Purcell’s practice field — mashing it down in normal weather or worse in wet conditions — or far away in the neighborhoods.
Higbee said he recently heard of local residents who opposed the bond. He was appalled and even offered to bring them on a tour of the facilities.
But some are in favor of the bond issues.
Kelly Nemecek wants to see the community remain strong and he feels an upgrade at Conger Field will help that.
“Purcell needs new schools and facilities to attract people to their community,” Nemecek said in an email. “The one thing that that Purcell needs desperately is more new houses and new businesses to come to town, and the land is there to accommodate that growth. Therefore new schools and facilities will run hand in hand in all of that.”
Even with the changes, Red Hill will remain the same. It’ll actually receive an upgrade with a retaining wall built.
Higbee said the hill has started to interfere with a corner of an end zone. It’s expanded to force repositioning of sprinklers and even some re-leveling.
But he doesn’t want to see that part of Friday nights go away. He wants the changes to preserve the history and nostalgia, but also improve the program’s situation.
“We’re not taking Red Hill down,” Higbee said. “I understand people’s nostalgia and everything. I am starting to get Red Hill, but I think a lot of the people that are concerned about it want to keep it the same because they’re against change.
“I have plans of going nowhere. This is my home. I would assume retire from here. The kids deserve better than this.”