I saw that the school board voted to approve funding to fix seven area schools stadiums, but what about Sale Creek? The seven schools approved for funding at least have somewhere to play and practice, Sale Creek does not. They practice on an old cow pasture and have no place to change clothes or to use the bathroom while at practice, let alone have a place to have a home game.
Thanks to Finley Stadium they are playing home games there but it costs them to do so; money they could be putting toward the football program.
I don't understand how the vote was unanimous with Sale Creek not having anything to be proud of. As the school board was quoted as saying, these seven schools needed something they could be proud of. Don't the kids at Sale Creek deserve something to proud of too?
Dave Rievley
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Dave Rievley recently wrote a letter asking "Why No Stadium for Sale Creek?". First of all, the school system has never built stadiums. Each of the six stadiums mentioned were built years ago by sports boosters and donations. After receiving many complaints about the state of some of HCDE stadium bleachers, the school board asked that each of these stadiums be examined and that a report be submitted to the board along with a dollar amount to repair any problems that were a liability to HCDE. That dollar amount was $913,600. It did not make sense to allow any of these stadiums to further deteriorate to the point of having to be torn down like the one at East Ridge so, they had to be repaired. One or two injuries at any of these stadiums could have cost the school system much more than $900,000. Besides, I am on the Hamilton County School Board and while I represent District 1, I have to vote for needs in other districts because to get anything done it takes at least 5 votes and when more money comes available I will need votes from other board members to get things done in District 1.
I realize that Sale Creek does not have a football field and they are having to pay to play at Findley Stadium. That is why when the plans were being drawn for the new addition to Sale Creek, I asked if there was anyway we could make room for a football field. To do so, would have significantly cut down on parking that is desperately needed at the school and it would have jammed everything too tight in the space we had to work with. Trying to get all athletic fields on the Sale Creek campus is a priority of mine. It is also the reason that many discussions have been made trying to buy additional property joining the school. One piece of land adjacent to the girl's softball field was purchased a few years ago but, that was not enough. So, if enough land is purchased next to the school, I would like to see the stadium built there some day and not across the highway. But, these things take years of planning and preparation. For instance, it took 10 years for Commissioner Fred Skillern and I to acquire funding and approval from the school board and commission for the addition to Sale Creek that is now under construction.
I have been in conversation for some time with county government and they have agreed to grade the current football practice field to prepare it for sod. That work is scheduled to begin very shortly. I have also been trying to find some surplus bleachers but, if none are found perhaps donations from the community can buy new ones. While I know this is not a stadium, this field can be made an acceptable place to host home games so that money will not have to be spent to rent a stadium and money collected at the gate and concessions can be used to upgrade the field.
Anyone who would like more information or more explanation can call me at 595-4652.
Rhonda Thurman