T-L Photo/ROBERT A. DEFRANK Barnesville Exempted Village Schools Superintendent Angie Hannahs, left, and other school officials accept the first of a series of donations from the Goaliners booster club for upgrades to Shamrock Stadium. The group pledged $100,000 over five years. Also pictured, from left, are Goaliner Rick Thomas, district Treasurer Adam Quirk, Goaliner Rick Shepherd, buildings and grounds supervisor John Blattler and incoming superintendent Micah Fuchs.

BARNESVILLE — Shamrock Stadium is being upgraded and will host games and activities for the Barnesville Exempted Village School District for years to come, thanks in part to some generous donations from the athletic booster group known as the Goaliners.

On Wednesday members of the organization presented the first in a series of planned donations of $20,000 each. Member Dick Thomas said the group has committed to a yearly donation for the next five years, totaling $100,000 for the field. School officials say this will be valuable help for the $2 million project.

Thomas credited Rick Shepherd, chief fundraiser for the Goaliners, for spearheading a banner program. Area businesses and organizations pay to place banners around the stadium. Shepherd said the community has been generous when it comes to the school district.

“We have 65 banners that go up supporting the project,” Shepherd said. “A lot of community pride. … The response has been excellent.”

They added that many people have fond memories of their school district growing and of attending or participating in games at the stadium.

“I think it’s great,” Shepherd said.

“I played here,” Thomas said.

Retiring Superintendent Angie Hannahs said the district is grateful for the community support, and that players and stadium audiences will see a renewed Shamrock Stadium this fall featuring synthetic turf.

“We started this project before school was out. It’s lasting most of the summer, and we’re hoping to be completed – our goal is to be completed by the first home game. We’re so excited.

“We had wonderful support from the Goaliners over the years helping us maintain our natural field, but it was time for us to move in this direction and we think this is going to be beneficial to not just our football players but our softball team, our baseball team, our golf team, more of the community,” she continued. “Opening it up to more of the community, so we’re very excited about this project.”

Other improvements will include new LED lighting.

“It’s costing us around $2 million, but we are looking to use permanent improvement funds for the project as well as seeking out sponsorships and donations from individuals and businesses,” Hannahs said. “I think it’s going to look amazing.”

Micah Fuchs, incoming superintendent who will take office around the beginning of the school year, is also excited.

“I think it’s going to provide a great opportunity for the future of Barnesville. It’s going to help us with even playoff games, being able to be a place where we can host different events. Looking forward to how it’s going to help all aspects of the community,” he said. “The kids are going to enjoy playing on the AstroTurf. It’s going to be a lot better for them performance-wise, and it’s going to be a lot better for the school district maintenance-wise.

“Coming into this position, there’s so much support. This is a strong community. You think of the Ohio Valley, this is a typical Ohio Valley school district except the community support for everything we do is incredible, and this project is indicative of that,” Fuchs said, adding that the district has remained an important part of individual and family life. “You think back to your years, whenever that was, and the experiences you’ve had, the time you’ve had. I think it’s actually going to increase people coming back to check it out and see what we’ve done here in Barnesville. Some of those alumni that have moved away. It’ll create another round of excitement for Barnesville. … It’s going to be done in time, and our kids are going to be playing football here shortly.”

Treasurer Adam Quirk commended the Goaliners’ efforts and the community’s generosity.

“We obviously had an option of going on a tax levy and burdening the taxpayer with a possible levy, but at the end of the day we just felt that this wasn’t a burden to go on the taxpayer and we felt with the community supporting it — it’s always supported the school district — we felt more comfortable going out with a private sponsorship type of campaign,” Quirk said. “We still have spots available. We’re still open, and if anybody is still willing to give to the project, we’re definitely willing to sit down and talk to anybody and give some publicity to those businesses as well.”

Fundraising by the Goalliners has also assisted the district in constructing a $400,000 fieldhouse and installing new roofing for the locker room building.

For more information or to donate, call the district office at 740-425-3615