Out of Write Field

As we noted in our story Friday regarding Joe Knowles Field, South Kitsap School District athletic director Ed Santos and Ron Ness, president of the South Kitsap Coaches Association, jointly hosted a meeting Monday night about facilities in the district.

I do not want to regurgitate the many elements that already were covered in the newspaper, but there were some interesting new revelations at the meeting. The first assignment for the approximately 20 people in attendance was to generate a list of athletic facilities improvements that could be made throughout the district. The attendees were split into two groups to cut the list of 30 items into 10 to 15 priorities. Santos said this is not a final list, and the public again is welcomed to attend the next meeting at 6 p.m. Dec. 7 in the South Kitsap High School library.

The lists were compiled without regard to financial burden. I could have requested a state-of-the-art press box at Joe Knowles Field and it would have made the list even though it would not have survived the cut. But football coach D.J. Sigurdson’s vision might encompass that and much more. Sigurdson eventually would like to see an off-campus facility similar to Puyallup’s Sparks Stadium built. The suggestion comes with the idea that SKSD eventually will have a second high school and a new facility would work better than Joe Knowles.

Even with the addition of an artificial surface at Joe Knowles, there are some inherent issues with the facility that were mentioned during the meeting. The footprint provides limited room to make renovations that would be necessary to make it a facility that could house state championships and other events. Specifically, there needs to be covered seating, which cannot be added on the side that faces the high school without blocking visibility to the stadium during the game. SKSD facilities and operations director Tom O’Brien said that means the other side of the facility would need to be renovated and would become the “home side” of the field.

And the new stadium was not regarded as a distant dream. One of the two groups — the other did not have a final list to present — considered it the No. 1 athletic facility need in the district. It will be interesting to see if this becomes part of a future bond issue presented to voters along with a second high school.

But as Kathleen Simpson from the Field Today, Fit Tomorrow Task Team, which was developed to add first-class turf and other amenities to communities in the Kitsap Peninsula during the next two years, said “we know that a levy or bond isn’t going to pass right now.”

Despite that, Ness said he is ready to move forward.

“We cannot sit here and afford to put off this issue any longer,” he said. “We’re going to have to take the bull by the horns ourselves.”

Through the taskforce, Simpson has worked with several agencies to create a long-term plan — she said it typically takes five years — to install turf on fields. The group is working on a few projects now, including one at Silverdale’s Gordon Field.

Simpson said the first step is starting a non-profit foundation. As far as fund raising mechanisms are concerned, Santos also seemed intrigued by the prospect of corporate sponsorship at the stadium. Sumner Stadium was renamed Sunset Chev Stadium a few years ago after the local car dealership, which Santos said writes that district a monthly check. He said they are using some of the proceeds to replace the turf at the facility.

“I don’t think we’re limiting ourselves,” he said.

Santos said adding turf would generate new revenue in other ways for the district. He said the Harbor Soccer Club, a select team, paid the Peninsula School District $118,000 last year to use three different turf fields in the district. In addition to that, Santos said maintenance at Joe Knowles would be significantly reduced with turf. He said the district spent $23,000 on the field last year. Some projections have that cost sinking to $5,000 with an artificial surface.