Work continues on the Logan High School football field and track as seen on Friday.

Work continues on the Logan High School football field and track as seen on Friday.

A school tradition has been saved.

Although continuing construction delays on a new track at Logan High School will keep the school’s football team off its home field for two more games this season, special allowances will be made so the Grizzlies can host their Homecoming game and festivities at Crimson Field before turning it back over to work crews.

The LHS girls soccer team will also get a single home game next week before the final phase of the track replacement begins.

In an email to student athletes on Friday, Superintendent Frank Schofield had both bad and good news. First, he announced the construction project that had already gone past a projected August completion date would push even farther into the season. Then he offered the consolation that the two teams would at least get one chance to compete on their home turf.

“I recognize that the construction process on the track has disrupted your practices and games this year, and I am very sorry for that,” Schofield wrote. “We had planned to be done with the project by the end of August, but some events that were outside of our control delayed the work.”

In a follow-up email sent out to the entire school community, school district spokeswoman Shana Longhurst provided more detail, both on the planning of the project and the unanticipated delays.

“In an effort to provide some history, due to the condition of the track, we were to a point where we could no longer have a spring 2023 track season without repair,” Longhurst wrote. “We looked for a window that would have the least amount of disruption for all of our LHS student athletes. Unfortunately, due to issues out of our control this project has been delayed significantly. Much of this is due to the widespread cement shortage experienced in the Intermountain West during the summer.”

The cement has now been poured, and the laying of the rubber running surface is scheduled to begin after next Tuesday’s Logan-Ridgeline soccer game. It will be paused for Homecoming activities during the week of Sept. 19-23, then resume uninterrupted through completion.

The soccer team has four more scheduled home games that will have to be moved, and the football team has two. Locations for all of these events have yet to be finalized.

Although the Logan High playing field itself has not been affected by the track replacement, the area has been cordoned off by a chain-link fence, which sits only only about 4 yards from football sideline. When word of the Homecoming plan got out this week, some people close to the team expressed concern the fence and other construction materials would pose a serious risk to athletes.

Longhurst, however, said the fencing would be removed by next week.

Contacted by The Herald Journal, Logan School District Activities Director Mitchell Argyle pointed out that LHS is not the only school that has run into construction project complications of late.

“Many of our fellow competitors across the state have had facility upgrades that have experienced similar delays. Our student athletes have been amazing as they have adjusted to changes,” he said. “They continue to work hard and represent our school in a positive manner. As the administrator who works most closely with athletics, I am very proud of our coaches and athletes and the work they have put in.”

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