Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Sept. 18 for Dearborn High School’s New $2.9 Million Athletic Facility
Dearborn High School will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony this Friday at 6:30 p.m. for the school’s $2.9 million athletic complex renovation. The ceremony will take place on the school’s new synthetic turf football field prior to the start of the Sept. 18 football matchup with cross town rival Fordson High School.
Dearborn High School will celebrate its new football field and athletic complex this Friday, Sept. 18. This earlier photograph shows the synthetic turf being installed.
As a Dearborn High graduate, I’m still having a hard time adjusting to the relocation of the football field from the valley to alongside busy Outer Drive. Don’t get me wrong, the field looks great and so do the new stands. It’s just the wrong place for a football field and the home seats are actually constructed on the wrong side of the new stadium (the sun is supposed to shine in the faces of the visiting team, not the home team sideline). In addition, noise complaints from nearby residents have forced the school to turn down the volume of the loudspeakers at the new football field.
We can’t help but wonder what the field would have looked like if the School Board had taken up the City of Dearborn’s offer to pay for the costs of moving clay and dirt from the holes being dug for the combined sewer overflow basins and used it to raise the grass field in the valley.
A Dearborn Schools spokesman confirms the city did indeed make such an offer but it wasn’t as simple as filling the valley up with dirt to raise the field out of the flood plain. The quality of the soil that would have been trucked from holes along the Rouge River to the school was unknown and would have needed testing. In addition, the school district would have had to create a new flood plain in another location to match the exact size of whatever was changed in the valley of Dearborn High. While an interesting idea, those obstacles stopped the plan before it could ever get traction.
For those wondering, the $2.9 million price tag at Dearborn High covered the complete renovation of all athletic property at the school. The athletic complex renovation project began with the west complex in the spring of 2008. The complex includes a new synthetic turf football field, grandstands, press box, concession stand, new tennis courts, new softball field, renovated baseball field and renovated track.
The Dearborn High project is the final piece of a three year district-wide program to renovate the athletic facilities at all three high schools. A great deal of work was accomplished at Dearborn High over the summer. The school held their first gridiron match-up on their new synthetic turf field on Sept. 4, 2009.
September 18th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Terribly disappointed with the look of the field! I agree with the placement of the home fans facing the setting sun (not a problem later in the season, but it is now) and where, really, are the stands? I’ve seen Division 7 and 8 home fields around the area with more seating.
September 19th, 2009 at 7:22 am
The new field looks nice, and was broken in the right way, with a FORDSON victory over Dbn. High. Get used to it.
September 19th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
WOW could you tell it was election year LMAO… nice, cause that is what pulls in my vote, who shows up to what
September 20th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
I appreciate the want for change, but Dearborn High / the folks that pushed this project through just really dropped the ball.
I attended the Pioneer vs. Tractor battle on Friday night (perfect night for football). I parked across the street and after running across Outer Drive (will they ever make a walk-over for the safety of our students?!), I found a line. I stood in that line for 15 minutes and just as I gave my admission fee to a nice Fordson volunteer (wasn’t an official ticket person, just wanted to help with the flow), I noticed an 8 X 11 sign that said “VISITOR ENTRANCE.” I didn’t think it made a difference, and had already paid so I went ahead in. Turns out, that sign really meant what it said. I was stopped at a gate in front of the concession stand. There was a police officer, and Dearborn High School security officer, and a DHS mom waiting there, trying to prevent people from “crossing sides” (which really….a 4 ft fence? If there was a brawl, 4 ft isn’t going to cut it).
I graduated from DHS in 2000 and suddenly there I was, feeling like a nervous freshman looking for my student ID card. Suddenly I realized, “Hey, I’m 26 years old, I can cross a fence.” If they really wanted us to use different entrances, they should have them clearly (LARGELY) marked.
As for the field, it is beautiful, but it was hard to hear the announcers (they obviously had to lower the volume to please the nearby residents).
There is not enough seating. And yes, I do realize that I was at the Fordson game and not every game is that well attended, but even a regular match up would cause stress on the bleachers. There isn’t even room for the band to play in the bleachers, they have their own separate section (which provides ease for getting on the field for the half time show, but not for being a part of the crowd during the quarters).
I was one of the excited alum really looking forward to the new field, but this was disappointing, and at many times, quite annoying/frustrating.
September 21st, 2009 at 8:29 am
With all the fights Friday night at the Dearborn/Fordson game maybe they should have included a boxing ring! No wonder none of the new leagues wanted the Dearborn Teams. Soon we’ll be back to daytime games.
September 27th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
Funny how a 2.9 million dollar renovation for ALL athletic property never included any upgrades to the pool. I would have thought that something would be done to support ALL sports? I guess that we need to get our swimmers to win more?
Disappointing, to say the least.
September 28th, 2009 at 2:27 am
2.9 million and you couldn’t make both stands a liitle bigger.