It looks like Festus High School will have a baseball and softball field of its own by the start of next school year.
The Festus R-6 Board of Education voted unanimously Nov. 19 to approve a $1,664,300 agreement with ATG Sports to build a baseball/softball complex on the high school campus, 501 Westwind Drive.
Until the new field is finished, the Festus baseball team will continue to practice and play games on ballfields at the Larry G. Crites Memorial Park (formerly West City Park), and the softball team will continue using Sunset Park. Both parks are in Festus.
Festus Superintendent Link Luttrell said work on the new field should start soon, but how quickly it progresses largely depends on the weather.
“Right now, we’ve got a target of completion of July 15,” he said. “It will not be completed by spring baseball.”
Festus High softball plays in the fall. Portable fencing will be used for softball, which uses a smaller outfield area than baseball.
“The biggest part of the project is the turf,” Luttrell said. “It will be built directly south of the farthest west parking lot at the high school.”
ATG Sports has installed RamTurf synthetic turf at many athletic fields in the region, including the one at the Festus High football stadium.
Luttrell said ATG Sports was chosen through the Missouri School Boards Association BuyBoard, a cooperative purchasing group, so the district did not have to seek its own bids for the project.
He said the baseball and softball complex will include a 100-seat grandstand.
“There also will be common seat areas (around the outside of the ballfield fencing) where people can bring their own lawn chairs to sit,” Luttrell said
The motion to approve the project authorized additional funding, if needed, for contingencies, Luttrell said.
“Not included in that ($1,664,300) amount is we’ve got a contingency of up to $60,000 if there’s soil stabilization work or rock removal needed,” he said.
Luttrell said the district will pay for the project out of general operating funds.
“We’re looking to do a lease-purchase agreement through a bonding company,” he said.
Luttrell said that having a baseball-softball complex on campus will be a boost for those programs.
“We have always had to go elsewhere to play baseball and softball,” he said. “We’ve had to use city of Festus ballfields. The city has been a great partner. But, not having your own brings up logistical issues due to transportation.”
Luttrell said another benefit of the district having its own ballfields is that it can be used for other school-sponsored programs and activities.
“The band can use it,” he said.
Jeff Montgomery, head coach for the Festus High School baseball and softball teams, also said there will be advantages for the school having its own fields.
“We’re obviously really happy about it,” he said. “It changes the whole landscape by having a complex on campus. It helps in many ways. You have better supervision. You don’t have the transportation issue. Our practices will be much more dynamic because of this facility. Traveling to a city park for practice sometimes creates issues.
“This is going to be a great thing for our student-athletes.”