Photo Provided PICTURED IS a rendering of what the remodeled Fleming Field will look like for the 2020 season because of a turf project recently launched a group of community supporters and the Shadyside Booster Club.

SHADYSIDE — The Shadyside football program is one of the area’s richest in terms of history and tradition.

But, it’s home stadium — Fleming Field — hasn’t had a facelift in quite sometime.

That’s about to change, however.

If all goes as planned and the Fleming Field ‘turf committee’ has its way, the Tigers will play the 2020 season on artificial turf, becoming the seventh school in East Ohio to make such a commitment to the athletic program.

“This is the 100th year of football and (Shadyside) is one of the most storied programs in the Ohio Valley, but it also has one of the most worn-out facilities. So, it only makes sense to put a committee together to get the field turfed at no cost to the citizens or residents,” turf committee member Tony Francis said.

Though artificial turf is a dream for many schools, it truly came into focus for Shadyside last season. The Tigers finished the regular season with an 8-2 record, but their home game — in Week 10 against Wheeling Central — was played in torrential rain.

Because of the wear and tear on the field that week, Shadyside officials elected to move the Tigers’ opening-round playoff game to St. Clairsville’s Red Devil Stadium.

“That (playoff game) having to be played in St. Clairsville really kind of lit the candle for this project,” Francis said.

Since then, the ideas have been tossed around and then just a few months ago, Francis, Matt Merryman and Bud Davis were talking at an athletic booster meeting and decided to put the plan in motion.

“We have bids from three turf companies already and the rendering of the field is completed,” Francis said.

Not one cent of taxpayer money will be utilized to pay for this project’s initial installation. The school, however, will take on the cost of the upkeep and replacing the turf when that time comes, which could prove to be more than a decade down the road.

Francis stressed that this project will benefit all student-athletes from the Shadyside Local School District.

“We want to make it a community field,” Francis said. “It’s obviously a football field, but it’s not just that. Baseball, softball and track can all benefit from it. Plus, the younger kids will be able to play flag football or practice baseball and softball when the fields are still too wet.”

The expected pricetag of this project is upwards of $800,000. Though the fundraising has yet to fully amp up, Francis indicated there is already $75,000 committed from various sources.

The field will also have corporate sponsorship opportunities. There is a spot in each corner of the field where a logo can be placed. That price tag is $50,000 and covers the first 10 years of the turf because that’s what the manufacturer’s warranty covers.

The Shadyside turf committee, which is a 501C3, non profit organization, has partnered with the Community Foundation of the Ohio Valley, which is based in Wheeling, to help with the sponsorship portion of the fundraising campaign.

“We fall under an umbrella of a special project,” Francis said. “We have a plan for the corporate partnerships. We haven’t really started the advertising of those yet because we want to first make them available to entities within the Ohio Valley.”

On top of the corporate donors, donations will be accepted at each remaining Tiger home game this season. Plus, Francis indicated plans are in place to erect a monument area in the northwest corner of the field. That will further recognize sponsors and also the community and/or alumni will have a chance to purchase a brick in honor of someone or something for $200 a piece.

Though the school district is not involved with the financial aspect, whatsoever, Francis applauded the support the committee has received from the district.

Head football coach Mark Holenka and his coaching staff designed the field. Francis also pointed out the support from Superintendent John Haswell, Athletics Director John Triveri and Board of Education member Doug Campbell, all of whom are also members of the committee.

Soon, the committee will finalize the plans and put the job out to bid. It’s already heard from three highly respected turf companies, including FieldTurf, which installed John Marshall’s new field; the Motz Group and Maumee Bay Turf Company, which handled the River High School project a couple of years ago.

“We have the three bids, but since we changed the design somewhat, we have to get the hard number and then we’ll pick the contractor,” Francis said.

According to Francis, the goal is to have $500,000 in the bank by March with June as the targeted time to begin the work. Obviously, the work can’t begin until after track season is completed.

Currently, Fleming Field’s track is undergoing a resurfacing project. According to Francis, the actual track won’t be affected by the turf project, but some of the field events could be since the long jump and pole vault runways are currently up against the visitor and home sidelines, respectively.

“All scenarios for track and field are being looked at and coordinated through the superintendent, athletic committee and track coaches,” Francis said. ”

The Fleming Field turf committee is comprised of Francis, Campbell, Jeff Campbell, Shane Florence, Haswell, Holenka, Dennis Palicka, Triveri and Brian Hendershot.

The group meets each Wednesday at the Shadyside American Legion one hour prior to the Booster Club meeting.