| The
installation of an artificial playing surface
and other improvements are expected to begin soon
at Newell Field, where Belhaven College and several
Jackson Public Schools teams play their football
games
Belhaven
will pay for the new, grass-like surface, Sprinturf.
Garvilla said the cost is expected to run between
$600,000 and $700,000. Sprinturf is the surface
currently being installed at city-owned Smith-Wills
Stadium
and
at Mississippi College's Robinson-Hale Stadium.
Millsaps put it in last year at Harper Davis Field.
"We've
been tremendously excited about it," said
Millsaps football coach David Saunders. "The
biggest thing is, you have a perfect playing surface
every time, no matter how much it rains. "It's
nothing like the old artificial turfs used to
be. ... Any kind of grass cleats work on it; that's
a good measure of what it's like."
"I
think the parents of kids who will play out there
will be very thankful," Garvilla said. "There
will be less injuries and better games."
Garvilla said the new field would accommodate
soccer and other activities as well as football.
Belhaven is tentatively scheduled to open at home
on Sept. 3 against Southwest Baptist, though Garvilla
said that could change.
The
renovations "will be a big boost to us in
recruiting, in football and soccer," Garvilla
said. "You can also play (college or youth)
soccer tournaments there that could have an economic
impact on the city."
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