Turf will go in at Silver Creek High School this spring

The St. Vrain Valley School District will begin installing turf at Silver Creek High School this spring.

With Niwot, Silver Creek, Skyline and Longmont high schools all currently playing their home games at Everly Montgomery Field at Longmont High, the hope is to one day bring the stadium experience to each high school, explained Chase McBride, executive director of athletics, fine arts, PE and health.

“It’s a long range process. It’ll take a few more years, but we’re working toward it,” he said.

Silver Creek will be the seventh out of St. Vrain’s eight traditional high schools to get a turf field thanks to extra revenues at the district this year.

Lyons Middle Senior High School has its own football stadium with natural grass that is in good shape, McBride added. That school sees less wear and tear on the field compared to the others, so for now keeping the grass makes the most sense.

Lights have already been put in at Niwot, Skyline and Silver Creek, so the next step toward this long range goal is turf at Silver Creek. Following that will be bleachers for the schools as planning allows.

“It’ll continue to happen, but it’ll be more about a process of chipping away at it versus just, boom, it’s done,” McBride said.

Thanks to these investments, Niwot was able to host their homecoming football game on the field this year, seating audience members on the hill nearby. While that won’t be sustainable long term, McBride said it was exciting to see students get to host a home game at their own school.

“For a start, it certainly helps bring some energy to the schools to allow them to get some of their programming out there,” he said.

Turf is easier for the district to maintain from a facility standpoint. It also allows schools to practice later into the year without tearing up the grass fields.

McBride sees the benefits of these investments beyond just football games.

“It’s about community and making sure kids get the best of their high school experience, and we want to be able to provide that for them,” he said. “Both from the playing aspect to the fan aspect and curricular offerings with band being able to go there during the day. It’s so much more than a football facility.”