Douglas High sports complex nears completion

Think of it as a marathon runner taking those final grueling steps toward the tape.

The finish line for the long-anticipated all-weather track project at Douglas High School is well within sight, but there are those tedious final details that still remain.

For all intents and purposes, the track - along with the accompanying artificial surface on the football field - is complete.

But the official opening of the facility to the community won't come until contractors can finish work on a couple of improvements on the north end of the complex.

"Right now, they are building a storage shed and that should be done by Aug. 1," said Keith Cole, who has spearheaded the project since its inception. "Once that is done, they'll construct two additional runways and two shot put pits on the north end of the stadium, outside of the current fencing."

Cole said once the storage shed is done, there will be a window of time where the track will be open to the community.

"We just want to thank the community so much for their patience," Cole said. "I know it has been a long process for them. The end result of this is that we're all going to have a good time using this track."

The two remaining features to be added are a beefed-up security system including new fencing and new video cameras, and a large digital scoreboard on the north end of the complex specifically for track and field events.

"It's a big feature," Cole said. "We'll be the only school in Northern Nevada to have anything like this. It's a college-quality scoreboard."

The board will display lane placing and time after each running event.

Cole wanted to emphasize that none of the remaining construction will have any effect on the upcoming football season.

"Football season at Douglas High will be exactly as scheduled," Cole said.

One more area of concern will be protecting the football field.

While the track will be open to the community, people will be asked not to use the field.

"We want people to use the track," Douglas principal Marty Swisher said. "That's always been the plan. But with the field, we are in a situation where we have to protect a long-term investment against damage from things like gum or soda.

"We are trying to be good stewards of the generous donation we received from Big George Ventures for the field. When we finally open it up, we just want to make sure it is used the right way."

In theory, the policy is no different than having the school's gym or the school's baseball field essentially closed to the public.

"We'll really encourage people to stay off the football field," Swisher said. "There will be signs posted. Our goal has always been to provide public access to the track. The field is going to be another matter.

"If we can build that honor system in, we'll be fine leaving the facility open. But, if the field gets damaged, then we will have to readdress the usage of the complex. The important thing is that we will have to work as a community to honor and respect the facility that was made possible by so many generous donations."

Plans to expand the press box are still in the works, although that would be sometime in the future.

-- Joey Crandall can be reached at jcrandall@recordcourier.com or at (775) 782-5121, ext. 212.