CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Members of the University of Charleston football squad had a treat when they walked onto the practice field for the first time Monday morning to begin the 2018 season. Their home stadium, the University of Charleston Stadium and Laidley Field has a new playing surface for the first time in more than a decade.
“This is Field Turf and they are an incredible company. They make a great product which you see at a lot of the Division 1 stadiums,” said University of Charleston Athletic Director Dr. Bren Stevens. “We didn’t want to skimp in this area, we wanted to put state of the art turf down.”
The turf is phase three of what has been an ongoing makeover of the athletic complex which is owed by the Kanawha County School System and used in a partnership by U-C. Under the agreement, the Kanawha County Schools paid for new lights on the field and most recently a new scoreboard with video capability. U-C paid for the resurfacing project and eventually is expected to pay for a resurfacing of the walking/running track at the facility.
“It warms by heart to see our players get to play on a premier surface,” Stevens said. “The old turf was about 13 years old and new turf today is made so much better.”
The field turf will not only be a welcome addition by the University of Charleston players, but also the Capital High School team which also calls Laidley Field its home.