Trending
ELKINS -- The Elkins High School football team isn't the only gridiron unit in the county having to make adjustments to its schedule this fall due to the ongoing field situation with the closing of Wimer Stadium and the construction of a new field at EHS.
Elkins Middle School officials were hoping the school's football team would be able to play some of its home contests at Wimer Stadium this season, despite it being closed last year. One of several proposals involved fans watching the games from lawn and folding chairs placed around the track.
Although the field itself would be adequate to play on, school administrators had no choice but to take a different approach with the Hornets' home games in 2021.
"We found out that (Wimer Stadium) really wasn't in any kind of condition to have games over there," Elkins Middle School Principal Eric Lucas told The Inter-Mountain Monday. "It's in such a condition that it just wasn't possible.
"It's been vandalized so many times since last year -- the windows are knocked out of the blue building, both concession stands are torn up, you can't get in one of the bathrooms at all, and no water," Lucas said.
"The field is fine, I mean we could play on the field, but I'm not sure how we'd run the score clock either because that was all wired to the press box that's gone. There's really not much there other than the field."
Elkins has four games scheduled at home this season, including its first two -- against Tygarts Valley on Wednesday and Robert L. Bland the following week on Sept. 8. The Hornets' third home contest, a Sept. 19 clash with Taylor County, is also set to occur before the scheduled opening of the new EHS field on Oct. 1.
Lucas said EMS is planning to play some of those first three home contests in Mill Creek at Tygarts Valley High School. He is hopeful that the final home game of the EMS season, an Oct. 20 contest against Philippi, will be a true home game and be played at the new EHS stadium.
The Elkins High School home opener will be against Grafton on Oct. 1, when the new stadium is set to be opened on homecoming night.
"We're going to play some of our home games at Tygarts Valley High School," Lucas said. "It looks good that we're going to get to play that (last home game) toward the end of the year at Elkins High, though."
The Elkins High School football team played every game on the road last season after Wimer Stadium was deemed unsafe for spectators. The Elkins Middle School softball field and the Tigers Valley High School baseball field also were deemed unsafe for spectators by the West Virginia Board of Risk and Insurance Management last year.
On May 4, the Randolph County Board of Education voted to approve a resolution enabling the county school system to enter into a lease purchase agreement with Citizens Bank of West Virginia, to provide funding for new bleachers to be built for EHS athletic programs, including football, baseball and band. As part of the bleacher project, county officials are relocating the home of EHS football from Wimer Stadium to Elkins High School's current location at Kennedy Drive off the Beverly Pike Five-lane.
In addition, funding will be used to complete bleacher projects for Tygarts Valley Middle-High School football, TVMHS baseball/softball and Elkins Middle School softball.
Stadium Solutions gave an estimate of approximately $957,000 to complete outdoor bleacher projects at the facilities. The lease purchase with Citizens Bank will be for a 10-year period for up to $1,140,000. The payments will be $128,720.43 per year.