Taking an opportunity to rebuild from the devastation of last spring’s tornado, Shawnee Board of Education members approved a new turf project for Jim Thorpe Stadium during its recent November meeting.
“The board’s decision will give our students even more opportunities to learn and succeed,” said Dr. Aaron Espolt, Shawnee Public Schools superintendent.
The board approved the project following the acceptance of $1.825 million in gifts for various organizations to be used toward the district’s total tornado recovery efforts. The district will use a portion of the donations, along with insurance funds, toward a $1.3-million-turf project for the historic Jim Thorpe Stadium. The stadium, along with much of the SHS campus and the entire school district, was heavily damaged during a tornado in April 2023. The district suffered approximately $30 million in total damage.
“The timing for this turf project could not be better,” said Espolt. “These donations from our partners are making our vision of turning devastation into opportunity a reality.”
The spring tornado caused extensive damage to the Jim Thorpe Stadium complex that will require the replacement or repair of a press box, goal posts, play clocks, and scoreboard and sound equipment, Espolt said. With the stadium shut down due to those needed repairs already, the time was right to move forward with installing a turf field, he added. Shawnee is currently one of only five 5A/6A school districts without turf, and during recent community forums, Espolt said many parents shared with him their desire for Shawnee to have updated facilities.
Leading the turf project’s donations is the Avedis Foundation, the board of which unanimously voted to support the turf project with $500,000, said Dr. Kathy Laster, president and CEO of the Avedis Foundation.
“It is truly our honor and our pleasure to get to be a part of such an exciting thing that is going to happen for Shawnee, Oklahoma, and this school district,” Laster said. “We have watched as Shawnee Public Schools has done amazing things in recent years. We believe education is so important, and we are solidly behind you.”
Other organizations making donations toward the district’s storm recovery include Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation, A&S Roofing and Contracting, Avedis Foundation, Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Coryell Roofing, Arvest Bank, BancFirst, First United Bank, Sovereign Bank and Vision Bank.
While explaining why the turf project was deemed a priority with the district’s recovery, Espolt extolled the opportunities a turf field provides for all students, not just the obvious benefit to the football teams. He mentioned how a turf field will mean the Shawnee “Pride of the Pack” marching band will no longer have to practice in a parking lot, and how soccer teams will no longer be forced to move home matches to their opponents’ fields due to muddy conditions. He also explained how the field could be used for PE classes and elementary intramural sports.
Because Jim Thorpe Stadium is the largest outdoor venue in Shawnee, a turf field allows SPS to increase its partnership with community groups, civic organizations, the City of Shawnee, and local tribal nations to host events, Espolt said. Past events such as the Kiwanis Little Olympics have been hindered due to rain causing unsafe field conditions at the stadium, he said.
A turf field is also a benefit to the economic growth of Shawnee, Espolt explained.
“Because our district is well respected within Oklahoma athletics and activities organizations and because of its central location, we will have even more opportunities to host events such as state-level football games, state-level soccer tournaments, and marching band competitions,” Espolt said.
Shawnee hosting these events will attract more visitors and financial growth opportunities to the community, he said. Espolt gave an example of the district serving as a host site of the Class 2A, 3A and 4A state baseball tournaments, sporting events that have become some of the larger visitor attractions for Shawnee.
Board members also took action during the meeting to contract with GeoSurfaces to provide all materials, labor, and equipment for the turf project.
Dax Leone, director of athletics and activities for SPS, said that GeoSurfaces provides a long-lasting, safe product that is cooler than other turf fields. This type of field reduces the chances of students incurring concussions and ACL and groin injuries, Leone said.
Other student programs also benefiting from the gifts accepted at the board meeting include SHS tennis and wrestling. Julia Holland, the district’s assistant athletic director, stood alongside coaches and student athletes from the two programs to announce they had received a $75,000 gift from the Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation. The gift will have an immediate impact on helping replace uniforms and equipment, said Wrestling Coach Andrew McCune, who was joined by his girls wrestling team members. McCune said girls wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports in the state and nation, and he is glad Shawnee supports the team.
Espolt said construction on the new Jim Thorpe Stadium field is expected to begin this semester.