Submitted photo The first-ever football game played on the new turf at Elkins High School Stadium will be Friday night when the Tigers host Lewis County. The Elkins soccer teams played the first contests on the field Tuesday night. The Elkins Middle School soccer and football teams, and a youth football league, will also use the field this fall.

Submitted photo
The first-ever football game played on the new turf at Elkins High School Stadium will be Friday night when the Tigers host Lewis County. The Elkins soccer teams played the first contests on the field Tuesday night. The Elkins Middle School soccer and football teams, and a youth football league, will also use the field this fall.

ELKINS — The long-awaited first-ever football game on the new turf at EHS Stadium will take place Friday night when Elkins entertains Lewis County for a Big 10 Conference contest.

With the installation of the new turf, the biggest part of Phase 2 of the EHS Stadium Project is complete. The only remaining aspect of the $1,010,000 second phase of the project is the completion of the track.

“The only thing left with the Phase 2 is to finish the asphalt on the track,” Elkins High School Athletic Director Ross Ware told The Inter-Mountain Tuesday. “They have to put a top coat around it and then it has to sit for a while before they put a final layer of rubber on top of that.”

Phase 1 of the project was completed last fall when 2,000 bleacher seats and a press box were constructed at the new field. Phase 3 will begin as soon as possible, Ware said, and will include the construction of new concession stands, bathrooms and a field house.

“We are going to work on the restroom facilities and a place to sell our merchandise first,” Ware said. “After we get those going we will start worrying about getting the field house construction underway.”

The first-ever events on the new turf were played Tuesday night when both the boys and girls soccer teams took on Lincoln. Along with EHS’ soccer teams, both of the Elkins Middle School soccer teams will play their home games on the new surface, as will the EMS football teams and Elkins Youth Football League squads.

“Everyone is excited to have the opportunity to play on the new football field. This is a big deal for everyone involved,” Ware said. “Between all of the sports activities and band events, we have 50 events scheduled for the new field this fall. It’s going to be a fantastic experience for everyone to play here.”

Ware said that EHS is in the process of doing away with traditional ticket sales for the schools’ sporting events, as it is attempting to transition into digital ticketing. The process will be the same one the school used during last year’s regional basketball contest.

“It’s something the entire state has bought in to, so eventually everyone is going to be doing ticket sales digitally through Go Fan,” Ware said. “It just makes everything easier for everyone involved, especially those people who have to work the gate.”

Ware said that, until the transformation is complete, the school will still be selling tickets at the door like it has in the past. EHS is currently offering Fall Sports Season Passes through “Go Fan,” the platform being used for digital sales.

Kickoff for Friday night’s football contest is scheduled for 7 p.m.