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Stadium
needs new turf Sports Editor One
more win for the Lions means we have a streak going. Granted,
two wins doesn t constitute a winning streak, but we ll take it none
the less. The question is, will this be our last winning streak at
Hughes Stadium? It could be if we don t get new turf soon. That's
right, it s that time of year again when the College starts looking to
alumni and various area corporations to help fund the laying of new
turf. Our
present turf is so old (this is the time that an audience would say
how old is it? ) that its retirement plan gave up on it two years
ago. OK,
I m sorry, that was a bad joke. But it s true the turf is bad and
it s getting pretty dangerous out on the existing turf - not only for
the football team, but for the dance team and the marching band as well. Maybe
one of the reasons we don t have new turf is the budget cuts. Rumors
were spreading a couple of years ago the stadium was to get new turf,
but guess what happened? The campus got hit with an audit and the new
turf idea was put on the back burner, until now. Missouri Southern
cannot and will not put up with this turf for another year. College
President Julio Le n even said this is the last year for the current
turf. What
is going to happen next year without new turf? Well, the Lions will play
at Junge Stadium, the home of the Joplin Eagles. Are we going to be
forced to play on high school football fields? This is unacceptable. All
the other colleges are going to look at us and laugh. What
do we do? Well, for starters, we don t pay a Division III team to come
down here from Illinois and play us, that s for sure. We could have
used the money to help fund the laying of new turf. It might not have
been much, but it would at least be something to start off with. Many
of you are probably thinking maybe Southern is trying to be like Pitt
State and put down new turf because it just did? I
would like to take this time and tell you the answer to that question:
We cannot afford to play on our current turf; it doesn t matter if PSU
has put down new turf or not! I
hope that helps you out. New turf will cost about $500,000. I, for one,
do not want to see our team play on a high school field even if it is
a good field. One thing I can guarantee is the turf we will be getting
either next year or in a couple of years will look a whole heck of a lot
nicer and it will actually react like real grass. Which,
for a football team, is extremely nice to have. If anything else, the
College could put down regular grass and be like other institutions in
the state of Missouri. If we put down grass, it could actually cost a
whole lot more than artificial grass. Le n does not believe this is
true, however. I would have to agree with him. How can grass cost more
than fake grass? I mean grass is natural. All we do is rip up our old
turf, pour on about two gallons of Miracle Grow, and wait. It might take
a year or so, but that s how long we re expecting it to take to get
new turf anyway. So,
if you are alumni or an area corporation and the College contacts you
about donating, please say yes. |
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