Fans get first look at new and improved Lions Field

(Above) New home bleachers and a new press box were just a few of the improvements made at Lions Field over the summer.  -Reporter photo by Chris Barragy

by Marianne Gasaway

Lion pride was running deep Friday night— not only for the football players taking the field and giving us all a sense of normalcy for the first time in months, but for appreciating the planning, work and support of school district patrons who made substantial renovations at Lions Field possible.

“It looks great!” said Glynis Gagnon in between taking tickets at the new main gate.  “We’ve had so many people walk in and their jaws drop.  It’s just really stunning.”

The improvements, which include not only the new gate, but improved parking, new stands, press box and artificial turf field with a new school logo prominently displayed in its center, were appreciated by those who have been regulars at Clear Lake football games for many years.

“I was really excited to see everything,” said Colleen Snyder, proudly wearing her CLHS Class of 1981 T-shirt.  Snyder noted she has plenty of experience sitting on the bleachers, watching son Jace play football and daughter, Annie, take stats for the team on the sideline.  She was intrigued by the new bleachers, which rise considerably higher than the 1950s bleachers which offered the same amount of seating in roughly three times the space.  Soon grass areas will replace the old spots which were filled with bleacher sections.

Recent CLHS graduates Thomas Storbeck, Jack Barragy and Jacob Peterson were among those standing at the fence surrounding the field watching the teams warm up.  Admittedly, they were a bit jealous of the new field, but said it made them proud to be Lions and confident the team would do well on it.  Storbeck and Barragy said they had been allowed on the field to throw the ball around and were impressed.  Peterson was a Lion soccer player and he said he will likely try it out this spring when the soccer teams make

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it their home.

Clear Lake Activities Director Dale Ludwig was busily pacing between the concession stand, main gate, press box and end zones, answering questions and making sure everything was ready to go before game time.  The fitness tracker in his pocket was testament to the fact that he seemed to be everywhere: 38,000 steps, 46 flights of stairs, 16.2 miles.

It was all worth it, as everything went off without a hitch— or at least any noticeable hitches.

Workers from CL Tel were happy to post on social media that they had completed installing fiber optic cable at the site just before game time.

“It was great to see people out and about again and enjoying high school sports,” said Ludwig.  “I heard many positive comments about the facility.  There’s still a few things to figure out, but we will get that done as we go.”

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