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ASHLAND ATHLETICS AHS field will get its facelift Comment By Joe Zavala for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Joe Zavala for the Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 1, 2016 at 1:16 PM By Joe Zavala for the Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 1, 2016 at 1:16 PM » Social News Hellas Construction in April will break ground on an estimated $1.56 million renovation of Ashland High School’s Walter A. Phillips Field and the grass will be replaced with Hellas’ natural Geoturf infill, the district announced Thursday. The announcement comes roughly a year after the district officially kicked off its fundraising campaign and days after the Ashland Schools Foundation’s 10-day fundraising blitz concluded with a $95,000 haul, persuading the School Board on Wednesday to unanimously approve the $275,000 lighting contract that was required in order to move forward with the project. The schools foundation already had raised enough money to replace the grass at Phillips Field with a synthetic field stuffed with the more common, less expensive rubber infill, but health concerns related to rubber infill led the district to consider a safer alternative. Thursday’s announcement confirmed that the successful fundraising blitz put the district over the top, and the project is expected to be completed in time for Ashland High’s fall sports teams to use the field. “With the recent announcement from the Environmental Protection Agency and two other federal agencies that they would be undertaking studies to determine whether crumb rubber fields pose health threats to players, we just couldn’t see moving forward with a crumb rubber field,” School Board and turf committee member John Williams said in the press release. “The School Board members are pleased that we were able to match the enthusiasm from the community to make the project happen in a way that aligns with our values in Ashland.” Once completed, the field, lit by new stadium lights, will be 65 yards wide with a natural infill consisting of ground-up cork, coconut fiber and rice fiber — the first of its kind in Oregon. The field will be large enough to host prep football, boys and girls soccer and adult league soccer games, and also will be used for Ashland High physical education classes and possibly youth sports, such as Pop Warner. The district chose Hellas Construction to handle the renovation and, according to ASF executive director Susan Bacon, an original estimate of $1.75 million was chopped significantly by, among other factors, “value engineering” and an in-kind subcontractor gift. Ashland High grad and longtime Major League pitcher Jeremy Guthrie got the project off the ground with an original donation of $650,000. Other large donations included a $100,000 gift from Lithia Motors and $25,000 from Sid and Bryan DeBoer. While most of the project will be funded by donations, the district will cover the replacement of the lights, as well as the costs of architectural work and permits. Fundraising is ongoing, Bacon said. Donations may be made at https://secure.acceptiva.com/?cst=ae5c19 . Reach Ashland Daily Tidings reporter Joe Zavala at [email protected]. By Joe Zavala for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Joe Zavala for the Mail Tribune Posted Apr. 1, 2016 at 1:16 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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