May 7, 2015 3 min read

CANONSBURG – If everything goes correctly, work to fix the turf at Canonsburg Memorial Stadium will be completed just in time for the opening of football season.

And it won’t take a Hail Mary pass to get it accomplished.

The Canon-McMillan School Board Thursday night approved a plan to install turf and resurface the track at the stadium at a cost of about $1.2 million. The money will be paid from the school district’s general fund, with half coming from this year’s budget and half being pushed to the 2015-16 school year.

The contract to replace the turf, which was deemed unsafe for use after dips and bumps were found on the artificial surface last month, was awarded to ProGrass at a cost of $914,050. Nagle Athletic Surfaces, Inc., will resurface the track at a cost of $312,480.

Both projects are scheduled for completion by the final week of August, in time for the Big Macs’ football opener against Mt. Lebanon Sept. 4.

If work is not completed in time, Canon-McMillan discussed moving the game to Mt. Lebanon.

With the field at the stadium out of service until then, the board approved spending $2,383.26 to pay North Strabane Township for its football and girls soccer teams to use fields at North Strabane Township Park. The boys soccer team’s booster organization already pays $1,500 to the township to rent the field and did not wish to be part of the deal.

The first day of fall sports practice is Aug. 17.

“From now until the work is done, we have to be able to accommodate our teams to have a field for practice,” said board member Darla Bowman-Monaco. “This is just for what we can fit in. This is for girls soccer, boys lacrosse and practices for football. That’s the cost that North Strabane is going to charge us to use that field.”

Board member Manuel Pihakis, who voted against the expenditure, was upset the township, which is part of the school district, is charging for use of the facility.

“When North Strabane asks to use our facilities, we’ve never charged them,” Pihakis said. “The firemen come up and use our pool, whatever facilities they’ve needed, we’ve never charged North Strabane for any of it. I’m not accepting this. I’d like to see North Strabane waive this fee.

“I know what we’ve done for North Strabane in the past. We’re good neighbors, and we expect them to be good neighbors in return. If they were in dire need, I could understand it.”

The board considered allowing all teams to use facilties at McDowell Sports Complex, but those fields are natural grass.

“The explanation we got back from the athletic department was that it’s not fair for the students who play on turf all year to practice on grass and then have to play on turf,” Bowman-Monaco said. “Playing on a grass field is different than adjusting your feet on a turf field.”